oyste;r culture in i^ormosa 



The soft muddy bottom all along the coast renders the cultivation of oysters a difficult 

 matter. To obviate this natural disadvantage stones have to be laid in regular rows, to 

 which the young oysters can attach themselves. 



BIRTHPIvACE OP OYSTER CULTURE 



Although Italy was the birthplace of 

 modern oyster culture in Europe and in 

 early times had a large oyster trade, at 

 present the oyster is not of great impor- 

 tance. Interest in the Italian oyster 

 comes from its historic associations and 

 the pecuhar methods of culture which 

 have been practiced with little change 

 for 2,000 years. 



The cardinal feature of oyster cul- 

 ture here is the keeping of oysters sus- 

 pended between the bottom and the 

 surface. To this end the spat is col- 

 lected on bundles of twigs hanging from 

 ropes stretched between the stakes at the 

 corners of the squares ; the brush, with 

 the oysters attached, is woven into huge 

 ropes, 10 to 20 feet long, which when 

 suspended utilize the entire volume of 

 water, and the oysters that become de- 

 tached and the full-grown ones are 

 placed for final growth, fattening, and 

 storage in suspended baskets. It is re- 



ported that on a rope 14 feet long about 

 2,000 marketable oysters may be reared. 



OYSTERS IN OTHER EUROPEAN COUNTRIES 



Holland has a rather extensive in- 

 dustry, which ranks after that of France 

 among the continental countries. The 

 natural oyster grounds were practically 

 wiped out by overdredging, and the in- 

 stitution of artificial measures has been 

 so wisely undertaken by both govern- 

 ment and private citizens that the Dutch 

 have come to be regarded as the most 

 successful administrators of the oyster 

 industry. Efforts to restore the depleted 

 grounds in the Zuyder Zee have been 

 futile, and the industry now centers in 

 the Schelde estuary, in Zeeland. The 

 bottoms suitable for oyster culture have 

 been carefully surveyed and plotted, and 

 the government receives a large revenue 

 from their lease. Zeeland oysters are 

 in great demand in Holland, and are also 

 shipped to England and other countries 



274 



