758 REPORT OF COMMISSIONER OF FISH AND FISHERIES. [6] 
value of which could not have been less than from 25,000 to 30,000 franes 
($5,000 to $6,000). I cannot omit to mention in this connection, without 
injustice, the name of Dr. Kemmerer, of St. Martin, whose labor and exam- 
ple have been of great value in the progress of oyster culture on the island 
of Ré. The work of transformation thus begun in the Bay of Arcachon 
and upon the coast of the island of Ré gradually extended to the entire 
ocean coast and even into the Mediterranean, multiplying to an almost 
unlimited extent the edible treasures, of which the ocean contains inex- 
haustible germs, creating upon these desolate and barren territories 
wealth and abundance, and attracting there a hardy and numerous 
maritime population, from which to draw recruits for our marine. Such, 
then, are the grand results already due to the learning and devotion of 
M. Coste, and to the powerful and efficient aid which he has received 
from the Emperor, who has not hesitated to place at the disposal of this 
great worker the lands and material resources required for the under- 
taking. 
The domain of the sea is public property, and it becomes the duty 
and the right of the state alone to extend prompt aid to the increasing 
impoverishment and sterility of one of the branches of public industry 
and wealth, and it is evident from what has already been done, that the 
state has not failed in this duty. But although this is the chief cause 
of the renewed activity in the oyster industry, is it to be considered or 
does it follow that this industry can prosper only over great tracts of 
waste territory, like the bays of St. Brieux and Arcachon, with the 
help of powerful auxiliaries, such as the government vessels with their 
many intelligent men and officers? Does it follow, in a word, that 
there is nothing to be done, so far as personal endeavor is concerned, 
by the dwellers in coast territories? We think just the contrary; we 
believe there is much to be done, and that the cultivation of marine 
species is an inexhaustible mine, in the fruitful working of which each 
one can find his place according to his strength and means, and with 
that belief in view we have written this book, designing it especially 
for the proprietors of marine lands and salt marshes, and for the pos- 
sessors of parks and claires, the products of which can be easily 
increased a hundred-fold. While the labors of restocking, executed 
under the authority of the state, the reconstruction of old breed- 
ing or fattening ponds and the creation of new banks where none pre- 
viously existed, are undeniably great results; as is also the re-estab- 
lishment of the national maritime wealth by the reconstruction of the 
fishing grounds; yet it is important in another respect that it forms a 
grand example which each individual possessor of emergent or tide 
lands, of salt lakes, or simply of lands bordering the coast, can follow 
with profit, in creating artificial oyster stations, or fattening ponds, 
where oysters, mussels, crustaceans, or even marine fish can be confined, 
and where, as a result, there will gather an uninterrupted, fruitful, and 
