OYSTER BEDS. 71 



and France, and depositing it in the sheltered and shal- 

 low waters selected for " oyster layings," which usually 

 are kept untouched for two or three years till they 

 have arrived at some size. 



We know nothing certainly of the manner of growth 

 in the oyster, or the duration of its life. The inhabit- 

 ants of Marennes, on the coasts of the Atlantic, affirm 

 that it does not live more than ten years. In three 

 days after depositing the spawn, the shell of the little 

 oyster is three lines in breadth ; in three or six months, 

 it is nearly the size of a half-crown piece ; and at the 

 end of a year, as large as a dollar. The fishermen just 

 mentioned, distinguish the age of oysters by the marks 

 of growth on the shell. When they approach the term 

 of their maturity, the shell is very large in proportion 

 to the animal, which grows thin, and diminishes more 

 and more. As the oysters can completely shut their 

 shell, and thus enclose a large quantity of water in their 

 interior, they can live a long time out of this fluid, 

 especially if the drying action of the air be prevented, 

 and they are placed in their natural position. 



As we pass along the streets we cannot fail to observe, 

 that at the fishmongers the oysters are laid with their 

 flat sides uppermost ; were it not for this precaution 

 they would die. The animal breathes and feeds by 



