368 REPORT — 1856. 



leaves off, and not spend precious time in working out afresh what has already- 

 been ascertained*. He has stated his opinions with some freedom; because 

 it was thought that an expression of the difficulties encountered in the prosecu- 

 tion of tlie subject and of their causes, miglit (1) put other students on their 

 guard, and (2) contribute somewhat towards their removal. Tliey will be re- 

 ceived simply as the judgments of a learner who came fresh to the subject, 

 without previous acquaintance with books and naturalists. Ilis object has 

 been, not himself to build, but to clear away some of the encumbrances, lay 

 part of the foundations, and collect a few of the materials, ready for the great 

 architects of science to erect the beautiful editice of harmonious knowledge. 

 The first scientific explorer of these regions, the venerable Baron Humboldt, 

 still lives to enjoy the earthly rest after his labours : but the early death of so 

 many whose names have been quoted, of Eschscholtz, of Hinds, of Souleyet, 

 of Reigen, of Adams, and of Forbes, urges us to "work while it is day"; that 

 we may prepare for that state where ignorance shall have passed away, and 

 where " we shall know even as also we are known." 



Warrington, Aug. 8tk, 1856. 



Abstract of First Report on the Oyster Beds and Oysters of the British 

 Shores. By T. C. Eyton, F.L.S., F.G.S. 



For convenience sake I shall divide this Report into three sections : — 1st, 

 A history of oysters and the laws relating to them. 2ndly, An account 

 of the different beds. 3rdly, The history of the oyster from its embryo 

 state in the parent shell until it is seven years old ; and, lastly, a summary 

 of deductions from the reports I have received. The oyster fisheries of 

 England are of great antiquity, — the luxurious Romans held the British 

 oyster in high estimation. There have at different times been many Acts of 

 Parliament passed for the protection of oyster-beds; the fisheries are at 

 present, however, regulated by a Convention entered into between Her 

 Majesty the Queen and the King of the French ; and an Act passed to carry 

 the same into effect (6 & 7 Vict. c. 79), which enacts that the fisiieries shall 

 open on the 1st of September and close on the 30th of April. 



The oyster-beds which I have visited or received reports from are the 

 following : — Loch Ryan, the whole of the Welsh beds. Loch Fyne (a bed of 

 no commercial value). Isle of Man beds, Jersey, Guernsey and Sark beds, 

 Kentish and Essex beds. The oysters, from which the spawn I am about to 

 mention was taken, were obtained from Loch Ryan, at the entrance to the 

 Clyde, on the 10th of July, and were forwarded to me in a box packed in 

 wet grass; they were thirty-two in number, of which only three proved to 

 be in spawn : in these, from a rough calculation, which I believe to be much 

 under the mark, the number of young was about 3,000,000. The first oyster 

 I opened had the spawn exuded, so that it lay on one side between the folds 

 of the mantle. The mass was of a purplish colour ; and on examining it with 

 a hand-glass, I could perceive some motion ; but on placing some on a glass 

 plate under a :|:-inch power in the microscope, I could clearly perceive that 

 what I had taken with the naked eye for ova were living animals varying 

 slightly in shape. The animal was semi-transparent, with two reddish 

 elongated dots placed on each side behind the cilia, which were in constant 



* The Plates appended to tliis Report, at the recommendation of the Committee, are intended 

 to illustrate some of the principal variations observed in individuals of the same species, 

 especially when the forms have been described as different species, or represent the characters 

 of different (so called) subgenera. They are to be regarded as portraits, not photographs of 

 the Mazatlan shells in the British Museum Collection. 



