OYSTER AND MUSSEL REPORT. 63 
clusters of fine mussels from the sea, which rolls in at this 
point between the Islands of Oléron and Re. 
Another minor industry at Le Chapus is the ‘ Péler- 
in’”’ gathering, which is carried on by girls (Pl. I, fig. 6). 
They go out on the shore at low tide attired in flannel 
knickerbockers and armed with a long narrow knife or 
spike of iron with which they scrape round the edges of the 
oyster parcs and in the mud between the stones. The 
mollusc they are in search of is Tapes decussata, and they 
seem to be able to rake it out in considerable quantities. 
It isa favourite article of food in the neighbourhood and I 
constantly met with it under the head of ‘‘ coquillage ”’ in 
the déjetiner menus at the hotels along this part of the 
coast. 
The basins of dégorgement at Le Chapus are placed high 
up on the beach. They are shallow tanks of considerable 
size, regularly built and with smooth, bricked, or tiled 
floors so that they can be kept perfectly clean and free 
from mud. They can be filled at high tide or emptied, 
as required. Their purpose is as follows:—It is found 
that oysters taken fresh from the parcs or claires have a 
good deal of fine mud and food-matter of a decomposable 
nature clinging to them both externally and internally, and 
they also naturally have the alimentary canal filled with 
a collection of partially digested diatoms along with some 
mud and other matters. Now if such oysters are packed 
up in this condition and sent off on a journey there is con- 
siderable chance of some of these organic matters or the 
more or less impure mud going bad and causing mischief ; 
and so the oyster-growers have discovered that it is a great 
advantage to place the oysters for a week or so before 
their journey in clean water in order that all traces of dirty 
mud and excrete matters may be got rid of from the 
intestine, etc. (See Pl, II, fig. 3.), 
