132 American Fisheries Society 



cess that has brought a lasting blessing to the several 

 villages which border the Bay of Aiguillon. 



The system of cultivation which was finally devised 

 by Walton consists of a wicker work constructed on 

 rows of stakes arranged in the form of a V with its 

 apex pointing toward the open sea or direction from 

 which the strong waves and tide come. This arrange- 

 ment is to protect the structure from the destructive 

 action of the wind, waves and ice. The stakes are trunks 

 of trees 6 to 12 inches in diameter and from 10 to 15 

 feet in length. They are placed from 2 to 3 feet apart 

 and driven into the mud for about half their length. 

 Then branches of osier or chestnut are twisted back and 

 forth between the posts in horizontal rows about 20 inch- 

 es apart from the top to within a foot of the bottom. 

 If placed closer together than this they are apt to accu- 

 mulate mud and cause deposition of silt. Walton left an 

 opening 3 to 4 feet wide at the apex of the two wings 

 where traps were placed to catch the fish which went 

 out with the tide, thus making the structure serve a 

 double purpose. 



The length of the wings depends on the size of the 

 area covered by the tide, which is about one-fourth of 

 the distance between the extreme limits of high and 

 low water. At the present time in the Bay of Aiguillon 

 they are about 250 yards in length but are no longer 

 arranged in the historic V form. They are now placed 

 at right angles to the shore in parallel rows, about 80 

 yards apart. 



The buchots are arranged in several series from the 

 deep to shallow water, but in general three groups are 

 recognized according to the function they perform. One 

 set consists of large, solitary stakes placed about 1 foot 

 apart out in deep water where they are uncovered only 

 by the lowest tides. These serve for the collection of 

 spat and are known as the low crawls. 



The second series of buchots is placed half way 

 between tide marks and serves for the growth and fat- 

 tening of the mussels. Several rows of crawls, each with 



