20 
OXSTEB CrLTUEE COMMISSION—MINUTES OF EVIDENCE. 
Hr. P. James. 562. Where nearly the whole of the oysters are good for food ? Yes, and fit for any market. 
563. Then do you see any necessity for a close season ? I cannot see how it could be done. 
132^ov., 1876. 5(34. It is done in England, and we wish to know whether you consider it desirable in this country to close 
the rivers for a certain period in the year? 1 do not think it is. 
565. You think that good oysters can be had at all times during the year, just the same as good beef and 
mutton ? I do indeed, sir—that is my opinion. . /• i 
566. And that therefore there is no more necessity for a close season for oysters than there is for sheep 
and cattle ? I don’t see that there is. 
567. Can you always discover when an oyster is sick or about to spawn ? Yes, we can always discover 
it, for a very simple reason. If you simply touch them with your finger the milk or spawn comes from 
them. ... 
568. Then, if by chance an oyster-opener were to open an oyster in that state, he would tlirow it aside, 
and not mnke use of it for food ? I am afraid he would. 
569. Do you think these oysters are wholesome food? Well, I don’t like them myself, but a great 
many people do. 
570. Hon, J, B. 77'/Z«o;i.] That is to say, up to the actual time of spawning? Yes, they like them up to 
the very moment they spawn. 
571. ChairmanJ] Have you formed any theory witli regard to the number of young oysters that a female 
oyster will produce at one birth ? No, sir, 1 have never gone into the matter at all. 
572. You do not know Avhether they are male or female, or hermaphrodites? AVell, I am pretty certain 
myself that every thing in the world is male and female. 
573. You have never considered it necessary, in consequence of the abundance of oysters, to take any 
pains to secure the spat? No, not to go to any expense about it, because there is plenty of spat to be 
had without. 
574. Now, with respect to the rivers you lease from the Govenimcnt, of which you say there are six ; 
are the banks of rock or mud chiefly ? Well, they are both rock and mud. 
675. Where there are rocks is there much oyster spat sticking to them ? Not so much ; but we find, at 
Port Stephens for instance, mud islands, where there is a lot of little reeds sticking out of the water, and 
from them you can collect as much spat as you want. 
576. You find they stick to the mangroves also? Yes, they stick to the mangroves and to these small 
reeds, and they grow in lumps there. 
577. The supply is almost inexhaustible? Yes, 
578. And, if not collected they go to waste ? No, because at a certain season wc do collect them; that 
is to say we select the largest among them; of course a good many go to waste. 
579. Do you think they come to perfection there ? Some of them do. 
580. Those that arc near the water and get the most of the tide ? Yes. 
581. Those that are high up on the rocks or mangroves do not come to perfection ? Some of them do, 
but they mostly stick too close together and hinder each other from growing. 
582. But if removed, and put on good fattening ground, would they not produce an immense quantity of 
good oysters? AVell, I could not say for certain. We have now laid down 4,000 or 5j000 bags at Port 
Stephens, and we are waiting to see the result. AVe Iiave never succeeded yet in any one place. 
583. Hon. J. B. Wihon.'\ How long is it since you laid those oysters down ? About twelve months. 
584. And how long do you intend to leave them there ? My intention was to leave them there for 
another two years. 
585. Chairjnnn.'] How old were they when you laid them down ? Some of them I should saj^ were about 
t^vo years old ; and some of them were complete spat, about tlie size of your nail, about from three to 
six months old. 
586. You have told us, that wlien about three or four years old they become perfect; ought these oysters 
not to be left till they reach that age ? Some of them will be four years old then, and will have come to 
perfection if we have laid them on beds where they will grow. AVe have laid them on places where we 
know good oysters have been found, but whether it will suit them or not ^vc cannot tell. Of course we 
have to lay them down wdien the place is covered with water, and in spreading them over the ground we 
cannot tell w^hat is the nature of the soil on whicli they are placed. 
. 587. Have you ever noticed the countless millions of oysters sticking on to the rocks in Port 
Jackson ? Ves. 
588. If they were removed and placed on good fattening ground, w'ould not they produce an enormous 
quantity of good oysters ? I have no doubt of it, if you could find suitable ground, and it could be 
made to pay. 
589. AVell, with regard to the price, that w'ould be a question for the proprietor or lessee to consider. 
There would be very little expense in knocking them off the rocks and very little expense in planting them 
in suitable places, and therefore a reasonable price would pay any one ? if you were sure of getting all 
tliese oysters back again that you laid dowm, of course it w'ould pay ; that is what we w'ant to know—we 
have never seen it done yet, and w'e cannot tell whether it will answer; wo want to see the oysters grow 
to their proper size. ... . , 
590. But don’t you know' that London is principally supplied w'ith oysters grown in that way, by col¬ 
lecting spat and"laying them down on good ground ; that it i.s as well known in England what is good 
fattenTng ground as it is knowm what ground is good to fatten sheep and cattle on ? Then w^o w'ant that 
experience here, I am sure. ^ 
591. AVhat do you think of the climate of this country for the cultivation of oysters ? I believe this 
climate is more*^suitable than the English climate, I believe they will come to maturity faster, and that 
there will be more of them. i 
592. Are you not aware th^t the great difficulty in England is in securing the spat—that sometimes for 
' ten twelve and even fifteen years, the wdiole of the spat has been destroyed by severe frosts and stormy 
weather • and Frank Buckland says that unless they can get tranquillity and a temperature between 65° 
and 72° they lose almost the w'bole of it ? I believe the frost will kill the spat; it even kills the oysters 
when they lay out on the ground. 
593. AVell, the great difficulty in England is in catching the spat, and they are now getting spat from 
France, where the seasons are much better for growing. Now, here, we have a superabundance of this 
spat, and it is going to waste ; the only difficulty is in the fattening ? That is all. 
594 . 
