[Illustration: Plate XIII.--General View of the Oyster Parks on Lake Fusaro.] Upon the bottom of the lake, and on its circumference, the proprietors of Fusaro have constructed hillocks here and there, with stones heaped up, artificial rocks, raised sufficiently to shelter the depôts from mud and slime. Upon these rocks they deposit the young oysters gathered in the Gulf of Tarentum. Each of these rock-works is surrounded by a girdle of piles, driven close to each other, and raised a little above the surface of the water, as represented in Fig. 173. Other piles are distributed in long lines, and bound to each other by a cord, from which are suspended fagots of young wood. In the spawning season the oysters which have been deposited on the artificial rocks discharge the myriads of young fry which have been nurtured in the folds of their mantles. The fagots suspended from the piles arrest the germ before it is driven away by the waves, much as a swan attaches itself to the first shrub which comes in the way. By these precautions the riverains of Fusaro have provided for the preservation of the young fry, besides removing many of the natural enemies of the young oyster. [Illustration: Fig. 173. Artificial Oyster-bank in Lake Fusaro.] In other places the piles are distributed in long lines and bound together by strong cords, from which fagots of brushwood are suspended, on which the young spawn lay hold, as in Fig. 174. By means of these arrangements the pregnant oyster deposits its spawny progeny in quiet repose; the young germs are intercepted by the fagots and hurdles suspended between the piles, where the young oysters develop themselves under the favourable conditions of repose, temperature, and light. When the fishing season arrives, the piles and fagots which surround the beds are removed, and the oysters are gathered suitable for market. The oysters thus selected for sale are packed loosely in osier baskets and sunk, while waiting for purchasers, into a reserve or park. This park is established on the shores of the lake. It is constructed of piles which support a gangway provided with hooks, from which the baskets filled with living oysters are suspended, ready for sale. [Illustration: Fig. 174. Pillars with cords attached in Lake Fusaro.]