The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1893-01-20
CULTURE OF OYSTERS.
HoW TaEY ARE REARED BY HAND
IN FRANCE FOR MARKET.

Elaborate Processes by Which They
Are Prepared TO Tickle thu Palate OF
the Connoisseur-Raising Seed Oys-
ters and Greenirg.
From the Washington Star.
The project to cultivate oysters on a large
scale in the tidal rivers, bays and estuaries
of South Carolina, as we'll as in other At
lsntic coastal waters. has lei the United
States fish commission to make thorough
study of tide methods adopted in France for
the propagation and rearing of the luscious
bivalves.
Oyster culture in France is of compare
lively recent origin. Half a century ago
che natural oyster banks Of that country's
coast were deemed inexhaustible. like those
of the Chesapeake, aud were allowed to be
dredged. The depletion brought about by
such destructive fishing obliged the govern
ment to interfere for the protection of the
few remaining oysters, and measures for re-
storing the supply were discussed. In 1858
NJ. de Bon discovered that bits of wood
and stone might be profitably employed to
grow young oysters upon. AID this was the
beginning of what has since grown to be
an enormously profitable industry.
Owing to unfavorable natural conditions
such as turbid waters and muddy bottoms,
the French have come to rely almost wholly
upon artificial devices for growing oysters
They have two entirely distinct species, one
OF which is called the "flat" oyster and is
native to the soil, as one might say. The
other is the Portuguese" oyster, having
been imported from Portugal in a very odd
and economical manner. A cargo of oys-
tiers from Lisbon, being almost entirely
spoiled, was thrown overheard
near the mouth of the river Ga
ronne. In course of time the few
oysters in the cargo which were alive
when thrown away multiplied and formed
a great oyster bank. Very little attention
has been paid to the culture of this kind of
oyster, because it is Inferior in flavor. Its
shell is quite peculiar, being shaped roughly
like human foot, with notches resembling
toes. Attempts have been made to intro
duce the American oyster into France, but
they have been unsuccessful, owing to the
extreme saltness of the French waters. Our
oyster Ia brackish-water species, occur
ring naturally in river mouths and sounds
plentifully supplied with fresh water.
THE FRENCH FAvoRITE,
The "fatn oyster, which the French con-
slider far superior to the American, is fiat
and round in shape, the animal itself being
much smaller than its shell. faint in color,
with a brown or pinkish margin. 1t
possesses a piquant taste, with a slight
metallic or ''coppeFyn flavor. 1t is said to
have two sexes, whereas the American aud
Portuguese species are hermaphrodite, pos
sessing both sexes in the same Individual
The business Of cultivation is divided into
two important branches-the production of
seed oysters and the raising of the latter. IL
will be most interesting to consider the
various processes IN their regular order.
Thus It will be seen, to begin
with, how the free swimming young
OF the mollusk attach them
selves to cement-coated tiles, and how sub
sequently, when they have reached the size
of finger nail. the baby oysters are sepa-
rated from the tiles and sold to the grower
who raises them for market. The latter ar
ranges them In wire gauze cases until they
are large enough to be pretty safe from
enemies. He then transfers them to in
closures called parks" which are fed daily
by tidal water. Later on he may fatten
them and give them a desirable color by q
sojourn In shallow stagnant pond, and
last of all he may make them worth the
highest price by a process of cleaning be-
fore shipment.
In France, ever since De Bon showed how
young oyster fry might be collected upon
sticks and stones, trial has been made of all
sorts of methods for producing the greatest
number Of seed oysters at the least expense
stood that the newborn mollnsks ara swim
ming animals during the first few days
after they have emerged from the shell of
the mother oyster, resembling 10 no way
the sedentary shellfish they subsequently
become. After a short time they attach
themselves to whatever solid and
stationary object may be most
handy, and proceed to form shells
and grow up. They cannot live on q
muddy hOttnpo ho
smothered, and. in fact it is the exceptional
young oyster that is fortunate enough to
secure a suitable place to grow upon,
where, holding firmly to secure anchor
age. he may develop to adult age, opening
his mouth to receive the microscopic food
which each tide brings. Inasmnch as each
breeding oyster produces an enormous
number of fry, the problem Of cultivation
has been simply to provide the latter with
hard objects to take hold upon.
Such objects, placed in the neighborhood
OF a natural bed, are called COLLECTORS"
and for this purpose such devices have been
employed as anchored bundles of brush.
platforms of wood, suspended strings of
shells. etc. The serious difficulty was al
ways that the collectors speedily become
coated with slime or sediment. which would
prevent the young oysters from attaching
themselves or would stifie them subse-
quently.
ON EARTHENWARE TILES.
The device which atleueth was found to
be best for this purpose was q sort Of roof
ing tile of earthenware, not fiat, but
curved like the side of a flower pot. Such
tiles are arranged in stacks along shore near
the line of low water with the convex sur
faces up. On these upper surfaces the sedi-
ment and slime gather, but the hollow
under side Of each tile forms a recess
almost free from sediment, which becomes
thickly incrusted with young oysters, called
''spat." Ordinarily. Q tile. IA inches long
aud inches wide will afford accommoda-
ton in this way for at least 200
seed" oysters. The oysters. having at
tached themselves, are permitted to grow
on the tiles until they have reached
about an inch in dianster, when they are
ready to be removed from the tiles and sold
to the person who rears them for market
Formerly it was customary to break the
tiles mp in such q manner that each little
bivalve should have attached tot It small
fragment of tile. However, q much better
method than this-has been found, the de-
struction of the tiles being too expensive
Before the tiles are set in the water they are
coated with lime cement, which renders 1t
possible to remove the oysters very easily,
thus leaving the tiles to be used again and
again.
Early in the spring the grower of seed
oysters dries bis tiles thoroughly in the sun.
a vat OF cetheht is then prepared with
mixture of lime and sea water. often with
proportion Of sand and mud, and-stiTred TO a