THE PEAEL-OYSTEE. 311 



have been plucked, they are again immersed into the lake, 

 until a new generation brings a new harvest. Thus the indolent 

 Neapolitans have for ages given an example which has but 

 recently been imitated by the men of the North. In 1858 a 

 mason named Beef (a name which, if not misspelt, would seem 

 to point out an English origin) inaugurated the modern era of 

 oyster cultivation, at the island of Re, near La Eochelle, by 

 laying down a few bushels of growing oysters among a quantity 

 of large stones on the fore shore. His success encouraged' his 

 neighbours to follow, his example, so. that now already upwards 

 of 4,000 beds or clavres extend along the coast. 



Between March and May 1859 a quantity of oysters taken 

 from different parts of the sea were distributed in ten longitu- 

 dinal beds in the Bay of St. Brieux, on the coast of Brittany. 

 The bottom was previously covered with old oyster-shells and 

 boughs of trees arranged like fascines, which afford a capital 

 holding-ground for the spat. In 1860 three of the fascines were 

 taken up indiscriminately from one of the banks, and found to 

 contain about 20,000 oysters each, of from one inch to two 

 inches in diameter. The total expense for forming the above 

 bank was 221 francs, and reckoning the number of oysters on 

 each of the 300 fascines laid down on it at only 10,000, these 

 sold at the low price of 20 francs a thousand would produce 

 the sum of 60,000 francs, thus yielding a larger profit than any 

 other known branch of industry. 



Encouraged by these successful examples, an English com- 

 pany has obtained a grant by Act of Parliament of a piece of 

 fore shore lying between the Whitstable and Faversham Oyster 

 'Companies' beds, and thus admirably situated for receiving a 

 large quantity of floating spawn from these establishments. 

 There can be" no doubt that oyster cultivation will spread further 

 and further, and that ultimately all the worthless bays and 

 lagunes along our coasts will be converted into rich oyster-fields, 

 yielding a good profit to their owners and enjoyment to millions 

 of consumers. 



A shell nearly related to the oyster produces the costly pearls 

 of the East that have ever been as highly esteemed as the 

 diamond itself. The most renowned pearl-fisheries are carried 

 on at Bahrein, in the Persian Gulf, and in the Bay of Condatchy, 

 in the island of Ceylon, on banks situated a few miles from 



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