™ 
[39] OYSTER CULTURE IN MORBITAN. 984 
so many little blisters; without being exactly enemies, they act like the 
mussels, which also sometimes assume the place of the oyster and de- 
velop upon the shell of the young or of the adult. MM. Solminihaec 
and Mauduy had occasion to observe at Bélon regular invasions of mus- 
sels, which, in a certain measure, prevented the growth of the oysters. 
The means of preventing this has not yet been discovered, but the 
disastrous action of the mussels may be, in a great measure, hindered, 
by keeping the oysters in a state of great cleanliness. In this respect 
the young in cages may be easily subjected to washings, either by means 
of the Dutch shovel or with a suction pump. Cleanliness, in general, 
is the best guarantee against enemies of this kind. 
Upon the whole, the enemy most dreaded by our culturists is the erab. 
Inorder to get rid of them, many devices have been suggested. M. 
Liazard’s invention has been especially noticed. It is a prism, covered 
with wire cloth, closed at the bottom, and with an opening at the top. 
The interior is partly filled with stones, as ballast, and bits of fish, as 
bait. When the crab once enters at the top he becomes imprisoned. A 
considerable number are sometimes caught in this way. 
CREATE eRe V. 
PARKS FOR RAISING AND FATTENING OYSTERS. 
Possibility of raising and fattening oysters along the shores of Morbihan.— 
Following the details already given, it will be seen that, in Morbihan, 
if not all the breeding parks, at least the best among them, consist, 
first, of the shore, along which the collectors are placed; second, of 
claires, or places where the stock can be protected during the winter; 
and, third, of cages or other appliances for protecting the oyster recently 
detached from the collector against their enemies, in cases where a por- 
tion of the tile has not been allowed to remain attached to the shell. 
These parks should be completed by the addition of special places, 
called raising parks, in which the oysters collected might be allowed to 
grow. 
Unfortunately, raising and fattening parks are not of general occur- 
rence in Morbihan, or, at least, are insufficient for the convenience of the 
entire stock collected. The efforts of those who understand the im- 
portance of the work we are now discussing should, in the future, 
be directed to this branch of oyster culture. The question of breeding is 
already understood, but that of raising and fattening is yet to be per. 
fected. As regards the breeding of oysters, we have encountered cer- 
tain well established practices and principles; but as to raising and fat- 
tening there exists an uncertainty, which will be remedied in the future. 
Here we again find that the nature of the bottom upon which the oyster 
grows is all-important in jts influences, This mollusk has more the ex- 
