OYSTER AND MUSSEL REPORT. 101 



oyster-spat can be obtained in abundance, and it is not 

 only able to supply young oysters to the various regions 

 in France, such as Marennes, where the oysters are 

 reared, fattened, flavoured, and coloured for the market, 

 but it also exports them in large quantities to England. 

 This artificial oyster culture at Arcachon was established 

 in 1859 by M. Coste, a biological professor in the College 

 de France. 



The population of Arcachon and the neighbourhood is 

 about 30,000, and of these 12,000 are employed constantly 

 in the oyster pares. About 300,000,000 oysters are pro- 

 duced annually, their value being upwards of 1,000,000 

 francs. The most notable physical feature of the neigh- 

 bourhood is the vast inland sea, the "Bassin d' Arcachon" 

 which is about 80 kilom. in circumference, contains at 

 high tide about 15,000 hectares of area, say 30,000 acres, 

 and is over the greater number of the channels about 5 to 

 10 fathoms in depth, while two thirds of the whole area 

 dries at low tide. This " bassin " is connected with the 

 Atlantic by a narrow entrance ("passe") at Cap Ferret 

 through which the tide runs in and out. 



In the middle of the "bassin " and due north of the town 

 of Arcachon is a small island, He des Oiseaux, and on the 

 shores of this and on various other flat shallow parts which 

 are exposed at low tide (and which are called " crassats ") 

 are situated the oyster farms or " pares." Some of these 

 ("bancs reserves") belong to the state and are reserved 

 for the purpose of producing spat — no doubt in the past a 

 most useful provision and wise precaution against any 

 general depletion of the private beds, but I was assured 

 by several people at Arcachon that the state reservations 

 were now really unnecessary. They say that there are 

 now so many adult oysters all over the ground that abun- 

 dance of spat for all is produced. Certainly during the 



