ON ACEPHALA. ole 
gave them a particular name, that of culliblephara, a word 
which is nevertheless supposed to be corrupted. Those are 
they which vulgarly, but most erroneously, are called males, 
because the oysters are all hermaphrodites. ‘The Romans ate 
oysters raw, and also cooked, with various seasonings, into 
which entered pepper, the yolks of eggs, vinegar, oil, wine, &c. 
But it is not probable that they made so great a consumption 
of them as do the modern Europeans. Accordingly oysters, 
at the present day, constitute a very considerable article of 
commerce. 
The best oysters in Europe are our own. ‘The most 
esteemed in France are found upon the coasts of Bretagne, 
and the largest on those of Normandy, whence they are 
brought at great expense to Paris in the autumn and winter 
seasons. The places where oysters are chiefly caught in 
England, are the Pont Burnham, Malden, and Colne waters, 
near Chester. This brood, and other oysters, are carried to 
the creeks of the sea, especially on the coasts of Kent and 
Essex, near the mouth of the Thames, and then thrown into 
the channels which are called oyster-beds, or layers, where 
they grow and fatten for the supply of the London market. 
In two or three years the smallest will become oysters of full 
size. 
The mode in which oysters are parked, as they call it in 
France, affords some curious details that may not prove unin- 
teresting to our readers. 
The oysters, which form a considerable object of commerce 
in the north of Europe, and especially at Paris, come from 
the bay of Cancale, in the British Channel, between the 
village of that name, Mount St. Michel, and St. Malo. The 
bottom of this bay appears even, solid, and without current, 
all favourable circumstances for the reproduction of these 
animals. It must be, therefore, very considerable, and the 
bank which the oysters have produced must be very much 
