Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1893-01-07

Oyster culture in France is of comparatively
recent origin. Half a century ago the natural
oyster banks of that country's coast were
deemed inexhaustible, like those of the Chesa-
peake, and were allowed to be dredged. The
depletion brought about by such destructive
fishing obliged the government to interfere for
the protection of the few remaining oysters,
and measures for restoring the supply were dis
cussed. In 1858 NJ. de Bon discovered that bits
OF wood and stone might be probably en-
ployed to grow young oysters upon, and 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 fiat" oyster and is native to the soil.
as one might say The other is the 'Portu-
guese oyster, having been imported from Por-
tuSal in very odd and economical manner
A cargo of oysters from Lisbon, being almost
entirely spoiled. was thrown overheard near
the mouth of the river Garorne. In course Of
time the few oysters in the C irgo which we're
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 quiz.
peculiar. being shaped roughly like human
foot. with notches resembling toes. Attempts
have been made to introduce the American oys-
ter into France, but they have been unsuccess-
full, owing to the extreme sadness of the French
waters. Our oyster is 4 brackish-watcr species
occurring naturally in river mouths and sounds
plentlfuily supplied with fresh water.
THE FRENCH FAvoRITE.
The fiat oyster, which the French consider
far superior to the American, is fat and round
in shape. the animal itself being much smaller
than its shell. faint in color. with brown or
plnkish margin. 1t possesses piquant taste
with slight metallic "coppery" flavor 1t
IL said to have two sexes. whereas the American
and Portuguese species are hernia phrodite pos-
sessing both sexes in the same individual The
business of cultivation is divided into two i'm
portant branches-the production of seed
oysters and the raising OF the latter. 1t will
be most interesting to consider the various pro-
cesses in their regular order. Thus it
will be seen, to begin with how the free
swimming Young of the molusk attach them
selves to cement-coated tiles. and how subse-
quently, when they have reached the size of a
finger nail, the baby oysters are separated from
the tiles and sold to the grower. who raises
them for market The latter arranges them in
wire gauze cases until they are large enough to
be pretty safe from enemies. He then trans
fers them to Enclosures called parks" which
are fed daily by tidal water. Later on he NAV
fatten them and give them q desirable color by
sojourn In o shallow stagnant pond, and last
of all he may make them worth the highest
a
ment.
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. Before going
any further ii must be understood that the new
born mollusks are swimming animals during
the first few days after they have emerged from
the shell Of the mother oyster, resem bling in no
way the sedentary shellfish they subsequently
become. After short time they attach them
selves to whatever solid and stationary object
may be most handy, and proceed to form shells
and grow up. They cannot live on a muddy
bottom, because they would be smothered, and
in fact it is the exceptional young oyster that is
fortunate enough to secure suitable place to
grow upon, where, holding firmly to a secure
anchorage, he may develop to adult age, open
ing his mouth to receive the microscopic food
which each tide brings. Inasmuch as each
breeding oyster produces an enormous number
Of fry, the problem Of cultivation has been sim
ply to provide the latter with hard objects to
take hold upon.
Such objects placed in the neighborhood of
. 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. &C. The Sc
rious difficulty was always that the collectors
would speedily become coated with slime or
sediment. which would prevent the young
oysters from attaching themselves or would
stihe them subsequently.
on EARIHENwARE TILES.
The device which at length was found to be
best for this purpose was a sort of roofing tile
of earthenware, not fat, but curved like the
side Of flower pot. Such tiles are arranged
in stacks alongshore near the line of low water,
with the convex surfaces up. On these upper
surfaces the sediment and slime gather, bat the
hollow under side Of each tile forms recess
almost free from sediment, which becomes
thickly incrusted with young oysters, called
.'spat." Ordinarily tile IA inches long and
inches wide will afford accommodation in this
way for at least 200 seed oysters The oys-
tiers, having attached themselves, are permitted
to grow on the TILES until they have reached
about an inch in diameter, when they
are ready to be removed from the tiles and sold
to the person who rears them for market.
Formerly il was customary to break the tiles
up in such a manner that each little bivalve
should have attached to it IL small fragment of
tile. However, much better method than this
has been found, the destruction of the tiles
being too expensive. Before the tiles are set
in the water they are coated with lime cement,
which renders it possible TO remove the oy sters
very easily, THIS leaving the tiles to be used
again and again.
Early in the spring the grower Of seed oysters
dries his tiles thoroughly in the sun. A vat Of
cemen. is then prepared with mixture of lime
and sea water. often with q proportion of sand
and mud, and stirred to the consistency of q
thick cream The tiles are rapidly dipped in
this fuid, allowed to drain off and set aside to
dry again. The crust OF cement thus
formed is brittle, separating readily from The
tiles in fakes. The latter are set out in the
water about the LIST of July. The time when
they are set is of the utmost importance, in
asmuch as the tiles so quickly become
slime covered. The greater part of the spawn
ing takes place quite suddenly, and the object
in view ia toset the tiles nearly as possible
before it will take place. Accordingly, the
culturist examines the oysters in the breeding
bed from time TO time, looking for the gray
spawn-the nurselings which the bivalyes age
about to eject.
TAKING Up THE YOUNG OYSTERS.
The "se.' Of spat on the tiles having been
obtained, there is nothing further to do but to
wait until the young oysters are big enough to
be safely separated from the tiles. By October
they as big OF bigger than ones thumb nail,
ana then the tiles are fished out Of the water
and foated to the shore on lighters. Each
cargo is precious to the proprietor, the
tiles being worth S10 per 100 in statu quo.
They are arranged in small heaps and the
operation OF removing the seed oysters from
them begins The plaster coating Of each tile is
readily haked of, with the oysters adherent,
by short pushes Of chisel-hke knife. The
women who perform the task become ex-
tremely skiliful, each separating perhaps 1000
oysters in a day. The loss is trifing, estimated
at from to per cent. The young mollusks