132 THE OYSTER. 



not prevent the deposit of mud, it at least retards it 

 and lessens its effect. Its use cannot be judiciously 

 dispensed with, unless the water has a long distance 

 to run from the sea and is given a chance to settle 

 before being admitted to the claire, so as to enable it 

 to part with the greater share of the mud which it 

 carries. 



" In order to prepare the ground of the claire for 

 the reception of oysters, it must first be cleared of 

 stones and all vegetation which may cover it, then the 

 necessary slope from the center towards the sides may 

 be given it. The ditch is next dug and the yard 

 thrown up. Then with the sluiceway made and the 

 gate in place, the claire is ready to be filled with water 

 during the first high tide. When the basin is full the 

 gate is closed and the water retained after the sea has 

 returned to its ordinary level. The sea water soon 

 penetrates the soil of the claire, saturating it with salt, 

 destroying all injurious germs, and transforming it, in 

 a word, into a marine bottom. As soon as it is sup- 

 posed that this effect is produced, the gate is opened 

 and the surface paved, that is, it is first smoothed 

 over, and then pounded until it has the even, compact 

 appearance of a threshing-floor. In about two months 

 the bottom of the claire will be ready for the reception 

 of the oyster. The breeders, to supply these claires, 

 have up to the present time had recourse to oysters 

 taken directly from the sea, either from banks near 

 at hand or along the coasts of Brittany, and brought 

 in bulk in coasting vessels. In order that the products 

 should be of a good quality and that the regimen of 

 the claire should have a beneficial influence upon the 



