136 The Commercial Products of the Sea. 



The value of the oysters sold in France in 1872 was 

 20,000, and in 1873, ;^6oo,ooo. The ports of Granville, 

 Cancale, and L'Orient produced nearly 13,000,000 oysters, 

 about 4,500,000 more than in the previous year. Ostrei- 

 culture, thanks to the care and wise regulations of the Gov- 

 ernment, is making rapid progress, both to the benefit of 

 the fishermen and the public. In the quarter of La Teste, 

 where this industry is extensively carried on, 42,342,250 

 oysters were obtained, being 17,000,000 more than in the 

 previous year. 



As there is nothing new under the sun, it would appear 

 that artificial oyster-culture is no exception, for in the days 

 of the Stuarts many Star Chamber edicts were issued pro- 

 hibiting the " exportation beyond the seas " of " oyster 

 faggots," i.e., fascines with young oysters attached ; and at 

 another time, in those halcyon days when Whitstable 

 oysters rose from 2>d. to 6s. the bushel, " water measure," 

 their exportation was prohibited, subject to dire pains and 

 penalties. It is strange that the French should learn 

 oyster culture from us, and that we should be beholden to 

 them for what we know about the artificial reproduction of 

 the oyster, notwithstanding the fact that we abound in 

 aquaria paying remunerative dividends. 



The French have been more zealous and energetic in 

 oyster culture than we have. At Arcachon, in the centre 

 of a basin exposed only during low water, is a bank called 

 Lahellon, of a surface of about 100 acres, forming the 

 model oyster ground, which is only above water for 25 

 minutes at every low tide. The oyster bed proper covers 

 only 10 acres, to which, however, have been added, as 

 annexations and depots, about 60 acres of neighbouring 

 banks. On this small space, where the first oysters were 

 planted in i860, the enormous oyster population has been 



