THE OYSTER AT HOME. 257 



larger, and prized for stewing ; the latter no longer exists. 

 In Lough Swilly there are oyster-beds, but the oysters were 

 getting very scarce in 1876, and it was proposed having 

 what is called in Ireland a jubilee, viz., closing the banks, 

 or a portion of them, for two years, and preventing the 

 picking or taking of small oysters. (<:) Oysters are 

 increasing in scarcity and dearness in Ireland and in 

 England, and this may be traced in a measure to the 

 increased demand, the railroads conveying the oysters into 

 the country ; and Mr. Farrer stated, in the evidence before 

 the Committee on Oyster Fisheries, in 1876, that oyster 

 cultivators had great difficulty in obtaining oysters to 

 fatten, because they were taken into the manufacturing 

 districts, where the people eat them though in bad con- 

 dition ; whereas they formerly had them brought to the 

 beds in the Thames. 



It is said that over-dredging has destroyed many of 

 the oyster-beds, and doubtless this has been the case in 

 places ; but on some parts of the coast it is absolutely 

 necessary to dredge during the summer, which is the close 

 time, to keep the beds free from sand, weeds, and mud, 

 which accumulate so much that the spat is injured ; but 

 the principal cause of the scarcity of the oysters may be 

 attributed to the low temperature of the water during the 

 spatting season ; the last few summers having been cold, 

 and the weather changeable. 



Between London and Glamorganshire there is a large 

 trade in pickled oysters, and we are told that seventy-two 

 million oysters are annually consumed in London alone, (d} 



The oyster-fishery of most consequence in Scotland is 

 that of the Frith of Forth. The oyster-beds extend there 



(c) "Report on Oyster Fisheries," 1876 ; Mr. Blake's evidence. 

 (d) "Journal of Society of Arts," August 24th, 1883. 



