

OYSTER AND MUSSEL REPORT. 117 



clusters of fine mussels from the sea, which rolls in at this 

 point between the Islands of Oleron and Re. 



Another minor industry at Le Chapus is the "Peler- 

 in " gathering, which is carried on by girls (PL II, fig. 6). 

 They go out on the shore at low tide attired in flannel 

 knickerbockers and armed with a long narrow knife or 

 spike of iron with which they scrape round the edges of the 

 oyster pares and in the mud between the stones. The 

 mollusc they are in search of is Tapes decussata, and they 

 seem to be able to rake it out in considerable quantities. 

 It is a favourite article of food in the neighbourhood and I 

 constantly met with it under the head of " coquillage " in 

 the dejeuner menus at the hotels along this part of the 

 coast. 



The basins of degorgement at Le Chapus are placed high 

 up on the beach. They are shallow tanks of considerable 

 size, regularly built and with smooth, bricked, or tiled 

 floors so that they can be kept perfectly clean and free 

 from mud. They can be filled at high tide or emptied, 

 as required. Their purpose is as follows : — It is found 

 that oysters taken fresh from the pares or claires have a 

 good deal of fine mud and food-matter of a decomposable 

 nature clinging to them both externally and internally, and 

 they also naturally have the alimentary canal filled with 

 a collection of partially digested diatoms along with some 

 mud and other matters. Now if such oysters are packed 

 up in this condition and sent off on a journey there is con- 

 siderable chance of some of these organic matters or the 

 more or less impure mud going bad and causing mischief ; 

 and so the oyster-growers have discovered that it is a great 

 advantage to place the oysters for a week or so before 

 their journey in clean water in order that all traces of dirty 

 mud and excrete matters may be got rid of from the 

 intestine, etc. (See PL II, fig. 3.). 



