THE OYSTER AT HOME. 26 1 



importance, to dismiss in a paragraph or two, I shall make 

 it the subject of a separate chapter, and proceed with the 

 list of our principal produce. 



The "Milton natives" bear the bell, or may be said 

 to be the pearls among British oysters. King John granted 

 these fisheries to the Abbot of Faversham, in whose hands 

 they remained till the dissolution, and they have been 

 dredged from the earliest times by a company of fisher- 

 men, ruled, like those of Faversham, by certain ancient 

 customs and bye-laws, (i) 



Jersey oysters are brought over and bedded in the 

 Southampton water. They are described as being small, 

 but of superior flavour, and are conveyed long distances to 

 be laid down, naturalized, and afterwards sold as natives. 

 They are also remarkable for their saline flavour when first 

 brought over, but it goes off after they have been bedded 

 some time at Southampton. (/) In 1876 Jersey oysters 

 were very scarce, and the beds in a bad condition. It is 

 said that formerly there were fine oyster-beds between 

 Portsmouth, Hayling, and the Isle of Wight ; and recently 

 a breeding place on the French system has been estab- 

 lished at Hayling Island, and there is considerable trade 

 carried on in oysters, (k) 



There are extensive oyster-beds in the Medina and 

 Newport rivers, in the Isle of Wight, and a large quantity 

 were bred in 1880, and were in good condition up to 1881. 

 (/) The Manor of Osborne is said to derive its old name 

 of Austerbourne, or Oysterbourne, from the oyster-beds of 



(z) Murray's " Handbook, Kent and Sussex." 



(/ ) " Field." Note by the Editor. 



() "Edible British Mollusca," p. 131. 



(/) " Oyster Culture and Oyster Fisheries," by Professor Hubrecht. 



