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Kepokt upon the Methods of Oyster and Mussel 

 Culture in use on the West Coast of France. 



By W. A. Herdman, D.Sc, F.R.S. 



PROFESSOR OF NATURAL HISTORY IX UNIVERSITY COLLEGE, LIVERPOOL, 



[With Plates I. —III.]. 



Introduction. 

 In accordance with the wish of the Lancashire Sea-Fish- 

 eries Committee I went to France towards the end of last 

 June and spent about three weeks in visiting the various 

 places on the western coast between Arcachon and 

 Brittany where oyster and mussel culture are carried on. 

 I saw everything possible in the time of the methods 

 employed and the results attained, collected notes and 

 specimens, and took about 60 photographs of the more 

 important points. From that material the following 

 report has been drawn up. 



I am indebted to Mr. C. E. Fryer, of the Board of 

 Trade, and to several scientific friends for kindly giving 

 me letters of introduction and for other help, and I hoped 

 to have received similar assistance through our foreign 

 office, but although I wrote and explained fully what my 

 object was in wishing to study shell-fish culture and asked 

 that facilities should be given to me by putting me in 

 communication with the consuls or the fishery authorities 

 at the places I proposed to visit, and although Lord 

 Kosebery kindly gave me an introduction to the British 

 Ambassador at Paris, to whom also I wrote explaining my 

 objects, still I received no introductions or official help 

 from the Government. It gives me the more pleasure 

 then to acknowledge the friendly spirit in which I was 

 received and the hospitable way I was treated by all the 

 Frenchmen I came in contact with and to whom I was 

 merely a foreign naturalist. I have since, however, 

 obtained some information in regard to the fishing at 



