1222 OYSTERS, AND ALL ABOUT THEM. 



are more troublesome on the Essex than on the Kent oyster- 

 beds. When dredging off Whitstable last year, we had fre- 

 quently thirty or forty five-fingers in a haul ; this we were 

 told was a mere " nothing," and our attention was drawn to 

 a fleet of some thirty or forty boats which were dredging on 

 the flats for five-fingers alone. When brought on shore they 

 are sold for manure ; they command, however,' but a small 

 price, i per ton. 



Nine out of every ten clocks brought up by the dredges 

 were occupied by these pests, who were evidently the evic- 

 tors of the rightful tenants. 



Mr. Gann, the manager of the Sea Salter and Ham 

 Company, described to us the following manner of dredging 

 for five-fingers without bringing up any oysters : 



The instrument employed for the purpose is an ordinary 

 dredge, with the thong that is attached to the skin or ring- 

 back loosened, so that there is an interval of about six inches 

 between the bit or knife and the lower network. When 

 dredging the oysters slip over the bit, and are not brought 

 up ; but the five-fingers, being of but little greater specific 



gravity than water, are lifted up, and before they have time 







to fall are caught in the bag of the dredge. 



Five-fingers do not like to be disturbed or to be rubbed 

 on the back, and it has been found that a large dredge, with 

 light iron rings for the back net, will cause them to disap- 

 pear, at any rate for a short time, from the grounds where it 

 is used. 



SEA-URCHINS. 



Sea-urchins or, as they are called in some places, 

 shepherd's crowns, burrs, &c. have also been accused of 

 destroying oysters, though it has not yet been clear how 

 they manage to grasp their prey, whilst using their hard 



