WIRE-GAUZE TRAYS FOR REARING OYSTERS: BELGIUM 



"The young are then placed in wire gauze baskets and transferred to inclosed ponds or 

 pares, where growth may take place without danger from natural enemies or from suffoca- 

 tion by mud, sand, or silt. For two to three years the oysters are thus protected, requiring 

 frequent overhauling, thinning out, and transfer to other pares or baskets as their size in- 

 creases, this part of the work also being done by women, clad in short skirts and having 

 heavy, square shoes on their bare feet" (see text, pages 269, 272). 



ENGLAND S ANCIENT OYSTER INDUSTRY 



As early as the year 50 B. C. the fame 

 of the British oyster had extended as far 

 as Rome, and Sallust seems to have been 

 more impressed by the oyster than by 

 any other feature of the country, for he 

 wrote: "The poor Britons — there is some 

 good in them after all — they produce an 

 oyster." In 80 A. D. oysters were ex- 

 ported from the Thames estuary to 

 Rome, and ever since that time England 

 has had an oyster industry of respect- 

 able proportions, although for many 

 years the supply has been inadequate to 

 fill London's gigantic maw, and importa- 

 tions from the United States, Holland, 

 and France have been necessary. 



In both quantity and quality the Brit- 

 ish product has been noteworthy from 

 early times, and while the natural oyster 

 grounds have been greatly depleted by 



excessive dredging the quality of the 

 ■yield has not only been maintained, but 

 has probably been increased by cultiva- 

 tion. To augment the supply of native 

 oysters, seed is brought from America, 

 France, Holland, and other European 

 countries, and after being transplanted 

 for variable periods is placed on the local 

 market. 



It is noteworthy that American oys- 

 ters deteriorate when taken to England 

 and placed on the grounds to grow 

 and fatten ; they grow rapidly, but the 

 flavor becomes metallic and their creamy 

 white color turns to leaden gray ; fur- 

 thermore, they will not reproduce. 

 French seed oysters, on the other hand, 

 when transplanted for three years in the 

 English estuaries, take on the shape and 

 flavor of the "natives," and are annually 

 sold as such at great financial profit to 

 growers and dealers. 



273 



