676 REPORT OF COMMISSIONER OF FISH AND FISHERIES. [4] 



greatly with the region, the cliniatej the nature of the soil, the composition 

 of the waters, the direction and strength of submarine currents, etc. 



Doubtless some phases of this long practical study should be exam- 

 ined and studied separately, but in this report, the only object of which 

 is to make known the condition of oyster-culture upon our coast, it is 

 not necessary to disengage and discuss them. I will content myself, 

 therefore, while making from time to time some observations, with stat- 

 ing my mission in the order I have accomplished it, and describing the 

 industry in each locality just as I have seen it. 



CouRSUELLES-suR-MEE. — Situated in the vicinity of the natural oys- 

 ter beds of the English Channel and the plantations of Dives, at the 

 mouth of the river Senile, from which it borrows its name, Courseulles 

 is one of the points upon the coast of Normandy where the industry of 

 oyster-culture is practiced with success and profit. 



The oysters sent from this station have long enjoyed in the markets 

 a well-deserved reputution. Nevertheless, Courseulles is not a place of 

 production. The planters {parqtieurs) who have established oyster ponds 

 (viviers) there, possess, at Saint- Vaast-la-Hougue, bedding-grounds 

 (etalages) devoted to the growth of the oyster, and the pares at Cour- 

 seulles are used only to fatten them and prepare them for market. The 

 oysters handled there are generally obtained from the beds of La Manche 

 where the fishermen collect them to sell to the dealers. 



These oysters would not be held in such esteem by the consumer, if 

 they were not previously subjected to a special training {education) 

 which is the peculiar industry of the planters of Courseulles. This is 

 designed to impart to them that delicacy of flavor for which they are 

 famed, and the ability to bear transportation without losing their fresh- 

 ness. 



The oyster pares of Courseulles are excavated behind the sand hills, 

 and have communication with the sea through the mouth of the Senile. 



Disposed in order along the banks of this water course, they communi- 

 cate with each other by means of canals through which, twice in a fort- 

 night, and for several consecutive days, the cool waters from the sea are 

 borne in all directions. 



Each pare is provided with a gate which serves either to retain the 

 water or to empty the reservoir, when the tide runs down, and also 

 gives passage to fresh water when it is necessary to fill the pond. In 

 the last case the gate is not opened until the tide has risen above the 

 level of the water in the reservoirs. 



It is at this time that the waters are the purest; earlier they hold in 

 suspension the mud stirred up from the bed of the river, and the earthy 

 matters that the waves have washed from the banks. 



The pares excavated in an argillaceous soil, occupy an area of 15 or 

 16 hectares, a space which may be enlarged in the future. They are 

 from 80 to 100 meters in length, 12 wide, and have a mean depth of 2 

 meters. 



