944 REPORT OF COMMISSIONER OF FISH AND FISHERIES. [2] 
CHAPTER V. 
Measures required to insure the prosperity of oyster culture. 
Principal cause ofthe failure of Coste. 4700 oan sae eee eerie een ne ee eee [46} 
Necessity of establishing parks for raising and fattening oysters..........---. [47] 
TAGING aao4 Sass bocden eS odso pono oab sade dacb asSsisesoedadas 6568 deoSoeneodes Sanus [50] 
Concessions fora long Geri ce oe oon a wine eee petiole a ele olatal erent aia ntetetat ole etatate ae (50) 
TReformesrObede tate sete ners 2am tata ate ae tate eae el rete [52] 
POC TTC Ne St SSR SEO RE AREEOE COs rio SoCo SIr SSeon eHSace see Oo Md asen Semnns Joe [53] 
ENE OrD Ue" kr LOIN: 
The oyster, whose edible qualities are so remarkable, formerly abounded 
upon our coast, and has always been in great demand. Successful 
attempts at its cultivation date back to remote times, and Coste has 
given an exceedingly interesting description of the ancient industry of 
Lake Lucrin. Inthe days of the greatness of ancient Rome, the proconsul, 
C. Sergius Orata, attained such success in the cultivation and improve- 
ment of the oyster, that a liking for the pleasures of the table, no less 
than for the attractions of picturesque country life, drew every year 
numerous patrician families to the environs of Lake Lucrin, upon the 
pleasant shores of the bay of Naples. 
Among the débris discovered about certain Roman camps, oyster- 
shells occur abundantly, and history proves that everywhere among the 
many productions serving as food for man, shell-fish in general, and 
oysters in particular predominate. This has resulted from the remark- 
able hygienic properties possessed by this class of animals, and to judge 
from the prescriptions of American physicians, one might be led to 
believe that the flesh of the oyster bore the character of an universal 
panacea. 
We do not intend to plead here the cause of the oyster, or argue in 
favor of its increased use. The consumption has already attained such 
proportions as to form in itself the strongest argument in its behalf. 
When we consider that in America nearly ten thousand millions are 
eaten yearly, that in the city of New York alone the annual sales 
amount to from seven to eight millions of dollars, and that, according to 
M. de Broca, more money is expended there for oysters than for meat, 
some idea may be obtained of the consumption in that country, and of 
the important position occupied by this mollusk in the public welfare. 
Taking into account the valuable nutritive properties of this product, 
and the importance of making it a common article of food, one can un- 
derstand our regret at seeing it disappear from some of the most impor- 
tant of the French beds. We do not need to seek the cause of its disap- 
pearance from the French coast; the fact is evident, and it is the fact 
that we should bear in mind. Coste, whose name will ever be remem- 
bered in connection with the great attempts of the past fifty years, in 
advancing fish culture and the cultivation of marine products, has, with 
