[11] OYSTER AND MUSSEL INDUSTRIES. 835 
proves that a claire which is only renewed on the eve of the day, or the 
following day, of these dry periods has less value than one which is 
inundated by the sea for a longer time; but both are endowed, though 
in different degrees, with the power of improvement and of viridity. 
The claires have no regularity of plan, nor uniformity in dimensions. 
Their size varies, however, on the average, from 250 to 300 square me- 
ters. They are surrounded by a bank of earth called chantier, about a 
meter in height and thickness, forming a dike where the amareilleurs 
walk about to keep watch or perform the duties pertaining to cultiva- 
tion; a dike which offers sufticient solidity to resist the pressure of the 
water when these pools are filled. A flood-gate fitted to an opening in 
the wall of this dike permits the regulation at will of the flow and ebb of 
the sea-water, keeping it at the interval of the great tides at a suitable 
height to accommodate the business, and allowing it to flow off entirely 
when they wish to empty the reservoir, to cleanse it, and to place the 
oysters there to become green. 
In a well-arranged claire is placed, also, at the bottom of the dike and 
around its inner circumference a ditch intended to receive the slime 
‘thrown by the waves on the central plateau which this ditch surrounds 
thus preserving the young from this injurious substance. In order to 
facilitate the end proposed, the plateau itself is slightly inclined from 
the center to the extremity, so that by means of this inclination hurtful 
matter may be carried off; but this arrangement is not absolutely neces- 
sary, and is frequently dispensed with. 
When everything is arranged, they profit by the first high tide to fill 
the reservoir, in which, when the waves recede, the flood-gate retains the 
water. The prolonged stay of these waters in this species of hydraulic 
apparatus fills the earth with a deposit of salt, which gives it qualities 
analogous to those of the sea bottom, and purges it from all hurtful 
products which it may have contained before submersion; then, when 
they think it necessary that these bottoms should be examined, they 
empty the clear pools, in order, according to the saying of the amareil- 
leurs, to prepare the bottom (parer le sol). 
This preparation, which can be made at all periods of the year, takes 
place usually in March, April, and June. It consists in drying out the 
claire, in order to level it like a garden walk or a thrashing-floor; all 
foreign substances, whether dead plants or growing, are carried off with 
the greatest care, so that upon this surface, hardened by the rays of the 
sun, there may be no obstacle to the free development and the acclima- 
tization of the edible mollusk which is proposed for cultivation. 
In about two or three months the soil is prepared, that is to say, it has 
taken the consistency necessary for the oysters to be buried therein. 
It is advisable then, in attempting to stock the surface, to follow the 
rules established by old experience; rules which are susceptible of con- 
siderable improvement, the introduction of which would greatly improve 
the quality of the oyster, and at the same time lower its price. Let us 
