[3] OYSTER CULTURE IN MORBIHAN. 945 
the characteristic glance of a man of genius, embraced the entire ques- 
‘tion, in all its bearings. 
It is indispensable that we should, in this connection, review the plan 
of work of this learned man, together with his principal ideas. When- 
ever oyster-cultural enterprises are to be undertaken, it is Coste, and 
Coste alone, who should be consulted, and whoever desires to make 
oyster culture practical must reflect upon the failures of Coste and 
deeply ponder their causes. 
We give here, in a few words, the course pursued by the master. M.de 
Quatrefages has contended that the artificial fecundation of the oyster 
is possible; Coste has shown that the oyster is hermaphrodite, that the 
eggs and spermatozoa originate in the tissues of the same organ, and 
that the mantle of the parent forms the only favorable medium for the 
process of hatching. In 1860, he wrote the following words, which are 
full of truth: ‘In the case of oysters, the natural processes are the only 
practicable ones to be followed in connection with the industry.”* This 
discovery, therefore, totally precluded the artificial fecundation resorted 
to in fish culture, rendered the crossing of species impossible, and led to 
a study of the natural development of the functions of the oyster, with- 
out the hope of controlling it. The fecundity of the oyster is very great. 
Each individual is capable of producing from 1,000,000 to 2,000,000 eggs. 
between the months of Juneand September. Hatching is accomplished, 
as already stated, in the mantle of the parent. The eggs, which are 
white at first, change in color, and when they have assumed a bluish or 
slaty gray tint, it is an indication that the embryos have arrived at ma- 
turity, and they are then expelled. 
Impressed by what he had observed at Lake Fusaro, convinced, after 
his trip to the little bay of Seudra, that cultivation might improve the 
oyster and giveit valuable qualities, persuaded, by the results of the mus- 
sel industry in the bay of Aiguillon, that man might exert a powerful in- 
fluence in increasing the abundance of these mollusks, Coste conceived 
a comprehensive plan. He asserted that breeding was possible in 
basins or claires; he made a study of the spat-collectors, sought to 
collect ali the spawn produced by the parent oysters, and affirmed that 
nearly all our shores might be planted and transformed into fertile 
regions of production. He insisted upon the duties of the department 
of marine, in connection with the enterprise. ‘The administration,” 
he said, “will see, as if by magic, the isolated banks of the entire har- 
bor of Brest and of the bays of Brittany, with the mouths of the affluent 
rivers, enlarged and united, by the formation of new ones, into vast 
areas of production. The depleted beds of Cancale and of Granville 
will be renewed, and will spread out towards very many localities, 
where the depths are such as to readily favor the attempts made to 
enrich them. The basin of Arcachon, all that section of la Manche, ex- 
tending from Dieppe to Havre, from Havre to Cherbourg, and from 
* Voyage d’exploration, Industrie du lac Fusaro. 
S. Mis. 29. 60 
