412 



A MUSSEL-FARM. 



[CHAP. ix. 



stakes, each 12 feet in length and 6 inches in diameter, are 

 driven into the mud to the depth of 6 feet, at a distance of 

 about 2 feet from each other, and are ranged in two con- 

 verging rows, so as to form a V, the sharp point of which is 

 always turned towards the sea, that the stakes may offer the 

 least possible resistance to the waves. These two rows form 

 the framework of the bouchot. Strong branches of trees are 



A MUSSEL -FARM. 



then twisted and interwoven into the upper part of the stakes, 

 which are 6 feet in height, until the whole length of the row 

 is, by this species of basket-work on a large scale, formed into 

 a strong fence or palisade. A space of a few inches is left 

 between the bottom of the fence and the surface of the mud, 

 to allow the water to pass freely between the stakes when the 

 tide ebbs and flows. The sides of the louchot are from 200 to 

 250 metres long, and each bouchot, therefore, forms a fence of 

 about 450 metres, 6 feet high. There are now some 500 of 

 these bomhots or breeding-grounds in the Bay of Aiguillon, 



