712 REPORT OF COMMISSIONER OF FISH AND FISIIF.RII-.S [10] 



to considerable distances by the currents witliont losing its vitality. 

 Often the spawn of these foreign oysters is transported from tlie Gironde 

 to La Eoclielle, where, having attached itself to any hard body with 

 which it comes in contact, it grows, fattens, and reproduces. It origi- 

 nates from the natural bed, which is formed not far from the Verdon, 

 upon the old bed of Eichard or Goul6e, 9 miles from the mouth of the 

 Gironde. 



Only five or six years ago a vessel loaded with Portuguese oysters, in 

 danger of sinking, discharged its cargo in order to repair damages. A 

 part of the oysters supposed to be dead were thrown over into the river. 

 Since that time these oysters have multiplied to such an extent, and the 

 bed has become so extensive, that thpy dredge it without intermission 

 during the season when fishing is permitted, without exhausting it or 

 impairing its fertility. In fact, this oyster bed is a veritable fortune for 

 the fishermen of the region, who gather each year from it an abundant 

 and certain harvest. 



Arcachon. — Among the most important oyster stations along the 

 whole coast of France, Arcachon is without a rival anywhere in the 

 number of oyster beds exploited, the value of the oyster-cultural estab- 

 lishments, and the extent of business to which this industry gives rise. 



The immense extent of salt water which bears the name of the Bassin 

 d' Arcachon is excavated in the midst of a sandy plain, and is in per- 

 manent communication with the Atlantic only by a narrow channel 

 opening. This little inland sea, into which many rivulets pour their 

 fresh waters, so valuable an auxiliary in the cultivation of the oyster, is 

 subjected to the same fluctuations of level as the ocean. It is traversed 

 by currents which cross it in all directions and keep up a continual ag- 

 itation. These currents circulate in channels of variable length, and of 

 a depth which sometimes reaches from 40 to 50 meters. Between these 

 channels are flats, known by the name of "crasscrfo'," which are laid bare 

 at each tide. Upon these flats, thickly covered with pares and claires, 

 are established the most extensive oyster-cultural industries that are in 

 existence. 



The oyster industry at Arcachon was not created '' out of whole cloth." 

 It was called into existence by the presence of natural beds, to the num- 

 ber of nineteen, scattered through different parts of the bay. These 

 beds, after having, like the oyster beds of the channel, and from the 

 same causes, passed through a period of decay, which at one time ex- 

 cited an apprehension of their utter destruction, have revived, and are 

 to-day of enormous fertility. The quantity of spawn which escapes, 

 mingling with the embryos furnished by the oysters i^reserved in the 

 pares, is so very considerable that tlie mass of the waters of the bay 

 are filled with it from the month of June to the month of August. The 

 collectors are loaded with spat; and, upon tiles suitably placed, 1,000 

 or 1,500 individuals may sometimes be counted. If the whole generation 

 that each year sees born attained adult condition, the Bassin d'Arcachon 

 would be soon insufficient to contain so prolific a population. 



