IV OYSTERS IN AMERICA 1 09 



except at very high tides. The oysters are shifted from one 

 ' claire ' to another, in order to perfect the ' greening ' process. 

 About fifty million of these ' huitres de Marennes ' are produced 

 annually, yielding a revenue of 2,500,000 francs. 



It appears, from the experience of one of the most enthusiastic 

 of French oyster-growers (Dr. Kemmerer), that oysters groio Lest 

 in muddy water, and Ireed best in clear water. Thus the open 

 sea is the place where the spat should fall and be secured, and, 

 as soon as it is of a suitable size, it should be transferred to the 

 closed tank or reservoir, where it will find the quiet and the 

 food (confervae, infusoria, minute algae) which are so requisite 

 for its proper growth. In muddy ground the animal and 

 phosphorous matter increases, and the flesh becomes fatter and 

 more oily. A sudden change from the clear sea-water to the 

 muddy tank is inadvisable, and thus a series of shiftings through 

 tanks with water of graduated degrees of nourishment is tlie 

 secret of proper oyster cultivation. 



The American oyster trade is larger even than the French. 

 The Baltimore oyster beds in the Chesapeake river and its 

 tributaries cover 3000 acres, and produce an annual crop of 

 25 million bushels, as many as 100,000 bushels being sometimes 

 taken from Chesapeake Bay in a single day. Baltimore is the 

 centre of the tinned oyster trade, while that in raw oysters 

 centres in New York. Most of the beds whose produce is 

 carried to New York are situated in New Jersey, Connecticut, 

 Delaware, or Virginia. The laws of these states do not allow 

 the beds to be owned by any but resident owners, and the 

 New York dealers have consequently to form fictitious part- 

 nerships with residents near the various oyster beds, supply 

 them with money to buy the beds and plant the oysters, and 

 then give them a share in the profits. It has been estimated 

 that from the Virginia beds 4,000,000 bushels of oysters are 

 carried every year to Fair Haven in New England, 4,000,000 

 to New York, 3,000,000 to Providence, and 2,000,000 each to 

 Boston, Philadelphia, and Baltimore. The Auierican ' native ' 

 {0. virginicct) is a distinct species from our own, being much 

 larger and longer in proportion to its breadth ; it is said to be 

 also much more prolific. 



According to Milne-Edwards,^ in the great oyster parks on 



* See G. H. Lewes, Sea-side Studies, p. 339. 



