Common Oyster [Ostrea eduUs). 243 



what is called "foxy," of a brownish-red colour. They are 

 sometimes seized with sickness during the spawning season, 

 and considerable numbers may die. Much labour is required 

 to keep the beds in good order, cleansed from shells and 

 rubbish, star-fishes, barnacles, corallines, and sea-weed, 

 which grow freely in the spring of the year. On the clean- 

 liness of the ground, the prolific character of the bed, if the 

 oysters breed there, depends. If carefully attended to, a bed 

 may last any length of time ; but if neglected, it will become 

 overgrown with weed and buried in mud, so that it can only be 

 reclaimed by restocking at a great expense, or is altogether 

 destroyed. Artificial beds, for the purpose of keeping a sup- 

 ply at hand for the London market are said to have been 

 commenced about the year 1700, by the Kent and Essex 

 Companies of Dredgers. The oyster does not breed freely, 

 often not at all, on artificial beds, so that they require to be 

 constantly restocked ; and when they do spawn under such 

 circumstances, the fry are said seldom to come to perfection. 

 On their natural grounds they spawn profusely during the 

 season, i. e., during the summer months. The developing 

 spawn is technically called " spat." 



The oyster has not a few enemies. Star-fishes, especially 

 the Uraster rtibens, and Solaster papposa, are supposed to do 

 great injury to the beds ; the dredgers call them Five-fingers. 

 Whelks, called by the fishermen whelk-tingle, or sting- 

 winkle, — are also said to do much damage, — perforate the 

 shells with small holes, selecting especially those of from one 

 to two years' growth. They are popularly supposed to strike 

 directly for the heart of the oyster. That most curious 

 sponge, the Cliona, perforates the shell in all directions, and 

 directs its operations, with a wonderful symmetry, as we now 

 know, through the curious investigations of Mr Albany Han- 

 cock. Milne-Edwards states, that in some places on the 

 coast of France, the oyster-beds run a risk of being destroyed 

 through the tube-constructing powers of certain annelides 

 (Jiermellce), becoming buried under masses of their cuj'ious 

 habitations framed of agglutinated particles of sand. 



In London, the chief consumption of common oysters is 

 from the 4tl» of August to January, and of natives from Oc- 



