946 REPORT OF COMMISSIONER OF FISH AND FISHERIES. [4] 
Cherbourg to Granville, will become covered with oysters, and the ex- 
tinct beds of the districts of Rochelle, Oléron, Rochefort, and Marennes 
will be brought back to their former prosperous condition.”* 
Such enthusiasm in a man of science, who based his propositions upon 
indisputable observations and upon the very judicious application of 
the principles of embryology, would naturally be communicated to others 
and create numerous adherents. 
The first attempt at oyster culture on a large scale was made at Saint- 
Brieue. Over the spawning oysters deposited upon the bottom, fascines 
were arranged and held in place by means of weights. The spat attached 
itself abundantly, and at the end ofa few months, the first lot of branches, 
covered with young, were carried triumphantly to the palace of the 
Tuileries. ‘I consider it my duty,” said Coste, “to propose to your 
Majesty that you order the immediate restocking of our entire coasts, 
including that of the Mediterranean as well as those of Algiers and Cor- 
sica, and not excepting the salt lakes of Southern France. * * * In 
this age, in which, by the eflicacious application of the laws of physics, 
an invisible force carries thought along the conducting wires, with 
which the genius of man has encircled the globe, physiology shall ex- 
ert its power upon organic matter, by an application of the laws of life.” t 
Coste did not doubt the result; failure seemed to him impossible ; he 
foresaw the complete transformation of the sea-coast, and exclaimed, in 
his letter of March 20, 1861, to the Emperor: “I thank your Majesty for 
having placed me in the front ranks of the greatest enterprise of the 
age, in connection with animate nature.” Attempts were multiplied, 
but progress and success seemed more and more retarded and lessened 
in the course of time. The bay of Saint-Brieuc was swept by a tempest. 
At Arcachon discouragement seized upon those who, in the beginning, 
were most enthusiastic; for little or no spawn was collected. Coste 
heard the name of charlatan sounded in his ears; his work was ridi- 
culed even by those whom, in the expectation of success, he had loaded 
with favors, and our modern Athenians were lavish in criticisms, in 
which neither sarcasm nor bitterness was spared. Enfeebled by his 
labors and deprived of sight, Coste struggled on. He hoped against all 
hope, and maintained that the application of his principles would even 
change the social conditions of the sea-coast communities.{ His views 
were met only by incredulity. He died at his post, despondent, greatly 
discouraged, and to the last hour misunderstood by that multitude, who 
_ treat with contempt all great ideas which do not meet with immediate 
success. While others were occupied in criticising, a few men labored 
faithfully, and in a few years, between 1868 and 1875, the production 
and cultivation of oysters made remarkable progress on the shores of 
Morbihan. 
* Rapport & ’empereur du 5 février, 1858. 
+Rapport 4 ’empereur du 12 janvier, 1859. 
tSee the preface to the work of M. de la Blanchére, Culture des plages maritimes. : 
