Hawke's Bay Herald. TUESDAY, JANUARY 22, 1895. OYSTER CULTURE.

Hawke's Bay Herald, Volume XXX, Issue 9894, 22 January 1895, Page 2

Hawke's Bay Herald. TUESDAY, JANUARY 22, 1895. OYSTER CULTURE.

Some time ago Mr H. Hill commenced ia our oolumns a sßriea or very Interesting articles Oh 'oyster cillturej with ppecial reference to the establishment of beds at Napier. If wo retaember rightly, Mr Hill's duties Sailed him away from town, and he never furnished us with the concluding article, which was to deal with the special local conditions prevailing here. Perhaps his multifarious duties have prevented him prosecuting the necessaty inqnlries. We are led to revert to the subject now because Wellington has stolen a roariSh on us in this respect, and has already established beds for the propagation bit oysters on a commercial scale. A correspondent of the Lyltdton Tinies famishes eomo interesting particulars of what has been done. From this we gather that the promoters Include several prominent) citizens of the Empire City, who have long bad the matter in hand, bat have only recently put their Ideas to a practical test, This industry, the name of which sounds rather strangely in New Zealand ears, is no dilletante experiment for the amusement of gentle' men with plenty of leisure time, but one which io other countries is regularly carried on io the great profit of the promoters. The Wellington gentlemen who have been the pioneers of the movement have chosen as their field of operations the harbor of Pahautanni, about 16 miles from Wellington, which baa long been famous for oyßters, bnt owing to the absence of cultivation the bivalves there have been decreasing in numbers and diminishing in siza. Henceforth thU site is to be. specially reserved for the experiment whioh the syndloate is making. Before laying down proper beds and beginning the cultivation in due form, the promoters took every precaution to gnard against failure, and the Government and the Marine Department have rendered them every assistance. They have now ac* | quired the right over the water and foreshores, with power to prevent any intrusion of oyster gatherers, who have hitherto taken the oyßters indiscriminately, both in and out of season. . They have secured the services of a capable export in the person of Mr Harvey, who came to New Zealand a few months ago with a large store of practical knowledge, acquired daring his lengthy connection with the famous oyster bedsSrt Colchester. The promoters have already deposited in the Pahautunai beds over 50,000 oysters imported from Stewart Island, Nelson, Sydney, and Auckland. In short, they are now fairly launched on the plan of campaign, and the first regular oyster " farm " in Now Zsatand has been thoroughly established. The writer says that the promoters are quito satisfied that the experiment will be a great success from a commercial point of view. We should like to Bee arrangements made for a visit to Napier of Mr Harvey, whose practical knowledge would be of Rreat assistance in indicating whether artificial beds could bo established here, and if so where.