912 REPORT OF COMMISSIONER OF FISH AND FISHERIES. [6] 
down upon the muddy bottom; the stakes of the parks and the cords 
which they sustain are speedily covered with a thin layer of mud, which 
prevents the young oysters from adhering. Moreover, in the upper por- 
tion of the Little Sea isolated oysters, called “ horse-feet,” are sometimes 
found in the natural state, and these seem to leave traces of their spawn- 
ing, doubtless on account of the purity of the water and the cleanliness 
of the bottom. But these mollusks are constantly displaced by the cur- 
rents, and it would be quite hazardous to count upon a regular harvest 
of young ones. This kind of oyster, which is still found in very small 
numbers in the roadstead, is highly esteemed by the 'Tarentians, who sell 
them for 15 to 50 centimes (2 to 24 cents) apiece. The beds near which 
the oyster-culturists of Tarente have placed their collectors are situated 
in the large sea. It is not known whether these beds are of large ex- 
tent or merely small aggregations; their exact limits as well as their 
actual situations are unknown. In the month of May the fishermen 
submerge fascines about two miles from the shore to serve as collectors. 
Stones attached to cords serve to keep them down at a suitable depth in 
the water, and they are found and recognized by means of pieces of float- 
ing cork. The fascines are examined fortnightly or monthly. Those 
which do not have a sufficient quantity of young oysters upon them are 
returned to the water after they have been cleaned of the mud that may 
have collected between the branches, and of all parasites which may have 
grown thereon, by leaving them exposed, for one or two days, to the heat 
of the sun. Those, on the contrary, on which the young oysters have 
attached themselves in large numbers, are immediately transferred to 
the parks of the Little Sea. 
The spawning season in the Gulf of Tarente is of exceptional length; 
it begins early in May and does not end until the close of September; 
and the yield, dependent upon the character of the year, may be abund- 
ant either at the beginning, at the middle, or at the end of this period; 
there is nothing fixed as regards this. Upon their arrival at the park 
the fascines are suspended from cords stretched from one stake to 
another, and kept in the water at a depth of one, two, or three meters 
(3 to 10 feet). After having been there six months, the young oysters 
havealready attained a length of two or three centimeters (about an inch). 
The time has now come to give them more space, and to place them under 
more immediate oversight; the fascines are untied, the branches taken 
apart, and those bearing oysters are placed between perpendicular cords 
similar to those used for mussels. The young oysters which are detached 
during this operation are placed either in baskets, on screens, or in nets 
suspended from the horizontal ropes, but never on the bottom. This 
system of breeding avoids general mortality. Atleast every four months 
the cables and other apparatus carrying the young oysters are taken up 
and examined. Those oysters which have become large enough to sell 
are removed, and advantage is taken of this opportunity to give those 
’ which ought to remain some time longer in the park the cleaning and 
