THE OYSTEE. 45 



very nice sense of feeling appears to reside in what is called 

 the beard, in scientific language hissus; this is a kind of double 

 fringe to the two lobes of the mantle, or sac, as it is called, 

 which envelopes the body of the animal, and floats free from 

 the shell, except just at the part nearer the valve where it is 

 attached. 



We have just spoken of the beard of the oyster, and this 

 reminds us of a conundrum which may serve to amuse our 

 readers, and enliven these dry details a little. Why is an 

 05'ster the most anomalous, that is strange, contradictory, crea- 

 ture in existence? Do you give it up? Well then it is be- 

 cause 



"It wears a beard without any chin, 

 Aud leaves its bed to be tucked in," 



Again, by this allusion to the ''tucking in" of Oysters, a 

 phrase more expressive than polite, w^e have recalled to memory 

 the saying of a quaint old author, that they are "ungodly, 

 uncharitable, and unprofitable meat; ungodly, because they are 

 eaten without grace; uncharitable, because they leave nothing 

 but shells; and unprofitable because they must swim in wine." 

 Not generally, however, are they eaten in this luxurious manner, 

 a little pepper and vinegar is all they commonly get in the 

 way of sauce, and those who swallow them thus accompanied, 

 seem to do so with infinite relish. A very long chapter, if 

 not a whole book, might be written about the historical asso- 

 ciations of Oysters, for which our country has been famous, as 

 far back as the time of the first Eoman invasion; much too 

 might be said about the Oyster beds and fisheries, which give 

 employment to thousands of our industrious population, but 

 all this has so little to do with natural histoiy, that we can 

 find no excuse for dwelling upon it here. It is quite within 

 the range of our subject, however, to state that the ''spat" 

 or "spawn" of the Oyster is cast about the beginning of May: 

 at first it resembles a drop of greenish tallow, but by the 

 aid of the microscope it may be seen to consist of a great 

 number of minute particles, each of w-hich is an eg^, and 

 will by-and-by become a perfect fish; these increase in size 

 very rapidly, and after floating about for a while, sink to the 

 bottom, and become attached to rock or some other substance. 



