PERILS OF THE OYSTER. 239 



Amongst the inanimate enemies of oysters, Frank 

 Buckland makes special mention of sand and frost : 



" Of all the inanimate objects which are inimical to the 

 oyster, there is nothing more fatal than sand. If we con- 

 sider the highly sensitive and delicate structure of the 

 oyster, it will be easily seen how very obnoxious sand 

 would be to his welfare. The worst of sand is, that it is 

 very liable to shift about in the sea, and great sandstorms 

 not infrequently occur, just as they do in the deserts of 

 Arabia, destroying suddenly whole caravans of camels and 

 men. When I was at the Isle of Re, Dr. Kemmerer gave 

 me a famous instance of a large number of oysters being 

 destroyed by sand. This event happened at a place called 



Morique There were a great number of tiles 



iaid down at this spot, and there were besides a large 

 number of oysters naturally adherent to the rocks. Just 

 outside, however, there was a moving sandbank. The 

 oyster-spat had taken well both on the tiles and on the 

 stones, but during a storm the waves brought a quantity of 

 sand, ruined the whole bed, and killed every oyster. 

 Although sand in large quantities is very dan- 

 gerous for oysters, yet a certain quantity is by no means 

 prejudicial to their welfare. The admixture should amount 

 to what my friends at Re call ' sable vaseux,' or mud sand. 

 This ' sable vaseux ' is very good for oysters, but it requires 

 an experienced eye to know it when they see it." 



Sand destroys oysters either by smothering them en 

 masse, or by getting between the shells near the hinge 

 where the oyster cannot get rid of it. Frost, ice, and snow 

 are destructive to oysters, but Buckland is of opinion that 

 in all ordinary frosts, where the oysters are covered with 

 three or four feet of water, they are safe. 



