T60 Ohfervai'wns rcJpcEling Oxjlcrs^ 



arrived, were often in a putrid ftate. No kind of animal 

 fiibftance, indeed, is more liable to corrupt than fliell-fifli, 

 both thofe which are ufed as food, and thofe which are not. 



It is an undoubted truth, that the nature of the ftiell and 

 fifli, as well as the goodncfs of thefe animals, are different 

 According to the bottom where they are found ; fo that fiflier- 

 men can tell by their external appearance, and connoiffcurs 

 by the tafle, where any kind of oyfter, and in general of 

 Ihcll-fifli, have been found. Where the bottom is calcare- 

 ous, they are tenderer and more friable ; where it confifts of 

 rock, they are thicker, more folid, and heavier ; where it 

 confifts of marl, or a mixture of chalk and clay, they are lefs 

 earthy, foftcr, and contain more animal gluten. On a flimy 

 bottom they are more oily, and abound more with rich ani- 

 mal particles. The tafte is equally liable to change : for 

 example ; on the eaftern ftony fliore of the Adriatic Sea all 

 marine animals are poorer and more infipid than thofe on 

 the weftern fide, where the bottom is richer. On calcareous 

 rocks the ovftcrs are larorer, but have not fo <rood a tafte as 

 thofe which live in flimy bays or creeks. In Norway thofe 

 are Jeaft: eftcemed which are found on a muddy bottom, be- 

 caufe they have a muddy tafte : thofe of Denmark, found on 

 a fandy bottom near Tondern and Fladftrand, are much bet- 

 ter. The beft are tlie fo called rock-oyfters, found on the 

 rocks where they are alternately covered and left dry by 

 the tide, though in England thofe found at the greateft depth 

 in the fta are preferred. The rock-oyfters are larger and 

 phimpcr than others, but their ftiells much thinner, and 

 many of them fo tlsin that they are as tranfparcnt as horn. 

 Fur this rcafon, a caflc fuch as thofe ufed at Eergen will 

 contain fcarcely 400, or even 300, fand-oyfters, but is ca- 

 pable of containing from 7C0 to 8co rock-oyfters. 



The oyfter fiftiery is exceedingly fimple, and requires very 

 little apparatus ; many colleft the oyftcrs wilh their hand, 

 that is, where the Tea retired and leaves the bottom drv. 

 "Xy^here this is riot the cafe, a fquare iron box, or box bound 

 round with iron, is dragged over the bottom by mean,s 

 of a rope, and frcm time" to time drawn up ;md emplied, 



Other;!, 



