78 Our Food Mollusks 



is especially true of the means used for the capture of 

 the swimming embryos. There are but two places on the 

 French coast where oysters spawn regularly in abund- 

 ance. Here, at Arcachon and Auray, attention is given 

 chiefly to the collection of the young, which are sent to 

 various parts of the coast to be reared in what are called 

 parks — walled areas between tide lines. 



The collection of young oysters is a very much more 

 serious problem in European waters than in our own. 

 There the great salinity of the water restrains the repro- 

 ductive process, while in almost all localities where our 

 oysters are found, they are extremely prolific, and it is 

 interesting to observe that when they are transported to 

 European waters, they also become sterile. The water 

 is very muddy on European shores. On settling, this 

 mud forms so soft a bottom that young oysters sinking 

 on it perish at once. A hard object to be used as a 

 collector is also very quickly coated with mud and slime, 

 so that an oyster embryo that has succeeded in at- 

 taching, is in danger of being lost even here. After this 

 coat has formed on the collector, attachment is impossi- 

 ble. For this reason, the American method of covering 

 the bottom with clean shells to capture the spat would 

 be relatively ineffective. 



Where waters are least muddy, bundles of twigs are 

 employed, after the ancient practice of the Romans. In 

 shallow water, where these can readily be handled, some 

 of the sediment may be washed off, giving sufficient time 

 for attachment. If oysters are well spaced on the 

 branches, the bundle may be allowed to remain sus- 

 pended during the period of growth. If they are closely 

 set, the twigs may be broken into small pieces and spread 

 on some hard bottom, or in racks that have been pre- 



