OSTRE AD.E . OYSTEE. 127 



Crabs, the bears of the sea, and Mityltne periwinkles ; 



Ambracia in all kinds of fish abounds, 



And the boar-fish sends forth ; and in its narrow strait 



Messene cherishes the largest cockles. 



In Ephesus you shall catch chemse, which are not bad, 



And Chalcedon will give you oysters."* 



Mr. Sharon Turner, in his ' History of the Anglo- 

 Saxons from the Earliest Period to the Norman Con- 

 quest/ tells us that in the dialogues composed by Elfric 

 to instruct the Anglo-Saxon youths in the Latin lan- 

 guage, which are yet preserved to us in the MSS. in the 

 Cotton Library, there is some curious information con- 

 cerning the manners and trade of our ancestors. In 

 one colloquy the fisherman is asked, "What do you 

 take in the sea ?" "Herrings, and salmons, porpoises, 

 sturgeons, oysters, and crabs, muscles, winkles, cockles, 

 flounders, plaice, lobsters, and such like." 



Great Britain is still celebrated for its oysters, and 

 large artificial beds are formed for the better rearing 

 and breeding of these shell-fish, besides the natural 

 oyster-beds which are found on many parts of our 

 coasts. The artificial beds require much labour to 

 keep them in order, and free from shells and rubbish. 

 The mussel is an enemy to the oyster, as I have already 

 observed, as it causes mud to collect ; and the star-fish 

 and whelk feed upon them, as do crabs, shrimps, and 

 other shell-fishes. Dr. Paul Fischer states that the 

 oyster-beds at Arcachon have suffered considerably 

 from the havoc caused by Murex erihaceus, which has 

 appeared in great numbers within the last few years ; 

 and it has been suggested by the Commissaire de 

 Tlnscription Maritime, at He d'Oleron, that when laying 



* Athenseus ' Peipnosophists/ vol. i. bk. iii. p. 154. 



