OSTREA. 307 



regret to the enthusiastic oyster-eater, who can hardly 

 gaze upon the abundantly entombed remains of the ap- 

 parently well-fed and elegantly shaped oysters of our 

 Eocene formation, without chasing " a pearly tear away " 

 whilst he calls to mind how all those delicate beings 

 came into the world and vanished, to so little purpose. 



0. edulis, Linnaeus. 



Plate LIV. and (animal) plate T. fig. 1. 



Lister, Anim. Angl. pi. 4, f. 26; Hist. Conch.pl. 193, 194. 

 Ostrea edulis, Linn. Syst. Nat. ed. 12, p. 1148; Fauna Suecica, p. 520. — Pknn. 

 Brit."Zool. ed. 4, vol. iv. p. 102. — Pulteney, Hutchins, Hist. 

 Dorset, p. 36. — Mont. Test. Brit. p. 151. — Maton and Rack. 

 Trans. Linn. Soc. p. 101. — Dorset Catalog, p. 38, pi. 11, f. 6. — 

 Turt. Conch. Diction, p. 133; Dithyra Brit. p. 204. — Flem- 

 ing, Brit. Animals, p. 392. — Brit. Marine Conch, p. 120. — 

 Brown, Illust. Conch. G. B. p. 71, pi. 23, f. 19, and pi. 30, f. 

 6, 7. — Born, Mus. Cass. Vind. p. 113.— Dillw. Recent Shells, 

 vol. 1, p. 280. — Index Testaceolog. pi. 10, f. 74. — Lam. Anim. 

 s. Vert. (ed. Desh.) vol. viL p. 217. — Blainville, Manuel 

 Malacolog. pi. 60, f. 1. — Crouch, Introd. Lam. Conch, pi. 12, 

 f. 8. — Sowerby, Genera Shells, Ostrea, f. 1. — Brown, Conch. 

 Text-book (ed. 1), p. 111. — Reeve, Conch. Systemat. pi. 120, 

 f. 1. 

 Ostreum vtdgare, Da Costa, Brit. Conch, p. 154, pi. 11, f. 6. 

 Ostrea hippopus, Lam. Anim. s. Vert. (ed. Desh.) vol. vii. p. 219. 

 „ deformis, Lam. Anim. s. Vert. (ed. Desh.) vol. vii. p. 229. 

 „ parasitica, Turt. (not Gmelin) Conch. Diction, p. 134, f. 81; Dithyra 

 Brit. p. 204, pi. 17, f. 6, 7.— Fleming, Brit. Animals, p. 

 393.— Brit. Marine Conch, p. 120, f. 108.— Brown, Illust. 

 Conch. G. B. p. 71. 



There is as much dissimilarity of aspect between the 

 sleek-looking valves of the flattened "Native Oyster" of 

 our markets, and the more coarse and rugged (but far 

 more beautifully sculptured and coloured) solitary indi- 

 viduals which are ordinarily termed " Rock Oysters, 1 ' as 

 there exists in the acknowledged flavour of their several 

 inhabitants. The former is too well known to require any 



