CHAP. vni.J HOW TO CONDUCT THE FARM. 365 



two after the opening of those beds, upwards of twenty 

 millions were brought into port, giving employment to 1200 

 fishermen. The gentlemen from Jersey who explored the 

 French oyster-beds saw in the bay of Arcachon, at Teste, 

 many beds which were highly productive. One man had laid 

 down 500,000 oysters, and these he estimated had increased 

 in three years to seven millions ! I may just be allowed to 

 give here one other illustration of oyster-growth ; the figures 

 appertain to the He de Ee : " The inspectors recently counted 

 600 full-grown oysters to the square metre, and seeing that 

 630,000 square metres are now under cultivation, it follows 

 that the oysters on this tract of desert mud are worth from 

 six to eight millions of francs, the total crop being (at the 

 time spoken of) 378,000,000 of oysters !" 



A large oyster-farm requires a great deal of careful atten- 

 tion, and several people are necessary to keep it in order. If 

 the farin be planted in a bay where the water is very shallow, 

 there is great danger of the stock suffering from frost ; and 

 again, if the brood be laid down in very deep water, the 

 oysters do not fatten or grow rapidly enough for profit. In 

 dredging, the whole of the oysters, as they are hauled on 

 board, should be carefully examined and picked ; all below a 

 certain size ought to be returned to the water till their beards 

 have grown large enough. In winter, if the beds be in shallow 

 water, the tender brood must be placed in a pit for protection 

 from the frost ; which of course takes up a great deal of time. 

 Dead oysters ought to be carefully removed from the beds. 

 The proprietors of private "layings" are generally careful on 

 this point, and put themselves to great trouble every spring to 

 lift or overhaul all their stock in order to remove the dead 

 or diseased. Mussels must be carefully rooted out from the 

 beds ; otherwise they would in a short time render them 

 valueless. The layings for example, of Mr. David Plunkett, 

 in Killery Bay, for which he had a licence from the Irish 



