366 OYSTERS, AND ALL ABOUT THEM. 



polish, you will see deep stains resembling those of 'a 

 black-eye in the green stage of recovery.' Accompanying 

 these will be a coarse chalkiness, very different from the 

 delicate nacre of a true native. 



Perhaps, however, it will be best to rely on the colour 

 alone, as the variation of texture is merely a comparative 

 indication ; while the presence or absence of deep colour 

 is a positive, certain, and unmistak'eable fact. Remember, 

 a Whitstable native has the very faintest tinge of violet- 

 blue inside the shell, if, indeed, the white be not, as it 

 more commonly is, free from any stain at all. 



At the best-reputed oyster shops in London, bearing 

 names that bespeak the excellence of everything which is 

 served there, no attempt to palm off Colchester oysters 

 which, by the bye, are quite good enough to stand on 

 their own merits is ever made. It is from Colchester, 

 principally, or from adjacent parts of the Essex coast, that 

 oyster-spat is procured for the Whitstable culture ; the 

 northern shore of the estuary being the best producing 

 ground, but not so suitable for development as the Kentish 

 coast within the Foreland. Most desirable is it, therefore, 

 that amicable relations should exist between Colchester 

 and Whitstable ; and if, indeed, something like a compact 

 could be signed and sealed between them, we might soon 

 see the finest oysters nearly as cheap as ever, to the com- 

 mercial benefit of both places. 



Hitherto, it must be confessed, the greed of certain 

 Essex traders in spat has been the main, if not the sole 

 cause of scarcity in the supply of well matured native 

 oysters. In the year 1859, just before English oyster- 

 eaters bade a long adieu to the old prices, 6/- a tub, which 

 means the old London bushel of twenty gallons, was given 

 for Colchester spat. The price demanded and obtained 



