122 OYSTERS, AND ALL ABOUT THEM. 



coloured, coarse, scaly oyster from Portugal, eleven inches 

 in length and five and a half in width ; beneath such a 

 mass of armour one would expect to find a precious trea- 

 sure ; but, far less than a pearl, it contained hardly any 

 meat, and a periwinkle would be a good mouthful and far 

 superior in flavour compared with the 'oyster' inside. 

 Similar oysters, laid down when young on suitable beds, 

 would develop into something more attractive looking, and 

 certainly more delicate ; and millions of oysters are annu- 

 ally imported into this country and laid down in selected 

 localities, in order to improve their condition ; and, like 

 charity children removed into better quarters and fed on 

 the fat of the land, they rapidly put on flesh. But just as 

 there are some charity children who never do credit to 

 their keeper, and persist in remaining scraggy, so there are 

 some oysters that refuse to fatten up, and which it is no 

 use to attempt to cultivate. Whether later generations, 

 born and bred amid civilization, would turn out any better, 

 is a problem which such institutions as the Brighton 

 Aquarium may solve. There are, indeed, many points 

 connected with the oyster which require elucidation, and 

 on which we might possibly gain information by means of 

 careful experiments in aquaria, such as the temperature best 

 suited to its growth, and the development of the spat, the 

 manner and frequency of breeding, the mode of adhesion, 

 &c., &c." 



It is generally believed that water of a high tempera- 

 ture, from 60 to 70, is necessary to the well-being of the 

 spat during its infancy, and some naturalists are of opinion 

 that the parent oysters will not breed unless the water is 

 sufficiently warm. It is certain that cold is fatal to oysters, 

 and equally so is extreme heat. For this reason the owners 

 of oyster breeding establishments encourage a moderate 



