PECTIN ID.E. 



at the lowtr valve; but this U far from being dUtinct in tome 



Brt IT Ih* MMrie claim* of OYf^M te unUoaUe, tboM of n0irra, 

 s^nlbhH by Say for Ux reception of the Urnluta, wboM umbo. 

 of riling above the valve*, take a lateral direction, bare lUll 

 daUoo. Then ii not, taya Deabaye* in concluaion, a aingle 

 r which b not to be found in the oyster*, and eometime* in 

 the varieties of the earn* specie*. 



Tb species of OiypluMt are found in almost all the strata down to 

 the liaa inclusive, and oonaiat of about thirty-five sped**. 

 U. mgulfla a recent 



Gtypltfa intwrra (Ua>). 



Emyyra it included in the species of Grypkaa noticed in the last 

 edition of Lamarck. Von Buch baa recently published a fine species 

 under the name of I', polyyona, from MunUn (South America), where 

 it wai found in company with Pectens by M. Alezandre de Humboldt. 



JsVajy* nniem (rpper Greeasand, Gault, Lower Greeatand, Blackdown). 



The generic character* of (Mrea are u follows : Animal ova], 

 obloog. flattened, often irregular; lobe* of the mantle thick and 

 hfraged on the border*, separated throughout their extent ; no foot ; 

 mouth moderately furnished with two pair of elongated lanceolate 

 palp* ; branchii) large, curved, nearly equal. The non-symmetrical 

 heart not baring Ha bais upon the intestine, which hut terminates 

 behind the adductor muaole by an anu* which floats between the 

 lobe* of the mantle, (Deahayea.) 



Shall adherent, inequivalve, irregular; umbonc* distant, and be- 

 aming very irregular aa the animal advances in age; upper valve 

 nalleet, gradually displacing itself, and advancing forwards o* the 

 animal grow* older. Hinge toothlen ; ligament demi-internal, inserted 

 in the cardinal pit of the valve* ; the pit of the lower valve increasing 

 with the age of the animal, a* well as the umbo, and acquiring some- 

 time* a grrat length. 



The epecie* of this genus at* distributed very widely, and prin- 

 cipally in the at** of temperate and warm climate* : no ipeciea appear 

 to have been met with in the Polar Expedition* very far north. 

 Oyeten have been taken on gravel and land, in mstuariea, and on the 

 rarOoaM, aooMtime* attached to rocks, tree*, 4c., at depth* varying 

 from the rarfao* to 17 fathom*. In the British MuMum there isi 

 good-eiaed crab, on the back and claw* of which are many oyster* 

 [C*m,l_ 



The True Oyster* have been divided into two group*, which may 

 b* satisfactorily used by loologisU and geologist* as subdivisions of 

 thai mweroo* gran*. 



A. True OytUri with simple or undulated, but not plaited 

 valve*. 



This eooalderabU group, which oontiat* of between 30 and 40 



peciee (recent), may be illustrated by the well-known Oitrta 

 ././. or Common Edible Oyster of the European seas. 



The Edible OyeUr U the OWrra and CWmm of the Itoman* ; Ostrica 

 of the Italians ; Ortra of the Spaniard* j Auster of the Oermana; and 

 liuitr* of to** Krmca. 



"The l*rt* <tfsUu,"*an Professor E. Forbea, in the 'HUtory of 

 British Molliuca,' " may be said to have it* capital in Britain, for 

 found elsewhere on the coast* of Europe, both northward and 

 * in no part of them doe* it attain such perfection a* in 



eta*, through which it b generally dUtributed, sparingly in 

 ea, abundantly and in gregariou* assemblage, in others, c 

 Wting the laainarian and coralline Ke*. The ancient U< 



, chiefly 

 K"::, il. 



valued our native oysters even as we do now, and must have held 

 them in higher estimation than thoae of Italian shore*, or they 

 would not have brought them so far for their luxurious feaste. 

 Juvenal record* the exquisite taste of the epicure : 



" ' Who, 



At the 8nt bite, esch ovtler'* birtbplso knew ; 



Whether u Lucrine or Circann he'd bitten, 



Or one from Itutujiinun derp< In Britsln.' 



" ' firctt'U nu forenl, an 



T.uorinum od uxuro, Hutuplnovc edits fundo 



Ottres, cat'cbat primo dcprcndere mortu/ " 



(Jvvensl, < Sat' I., ir. 1 40.) 



Property necessarily exposed, as these valuable oyster-beds must 

 be, required the protection of the legislature. (Stat. 31 George III., 

 c. 51 ; 48 George HI., c. 144 ; and 7 and 8 George IV., c. 29). By the 

 last-named statute (which repeal* 31 George IlL.c. 51), sec. 36, stealing 

 of oysters or oj*ter-brood from any oyster-bed, laying, or fishery, is 

 larceny, and the offender upon conviction shall be punished accord- 

 ingly. Moreover, if any person shall unlawfully and wilfully use any 

 dredge, net, ic. for the purpose of taking oysters or oyster-brood, 

 within the limits of any oyster-bed or fishery, every such person shall 

 be deemed guilty of a misdemeanour, and upon being convicted 

 thereof, shall be punished by fine or imprisonment, or both, such fine 

 not to exceed 20/., and such imprisonment not to exceed three calendar 

 months. The statute contains a provision that the catching floating 

 ii-h with any net, instrument, or engine adapted for catching such 

 fish, within the limits of any oyster-fishery, shall not bring the fisher 

 within the penalties of the Act. [OYSTER, in ARTS AND Sc. Drv.] 



The bill for the protection of the oyster-fisheries in Scotland 

 provides that any person in Scotland knowingly stealing oysters from 

 a bed, laying, or fishery, which is sufficiently marked as the property 

 of other persons, shall bo deemed guilty of theft, and punished 

 accordingly; and that any person using any net, dredge, or other 

 instrument, within the limit* of such oyster-fishery, for the purpose 

 of taking oysters, although none be actually taken, shall be deemed 

 guilty of an attempt to commit theft, and be liable to fine or 

 imprisonment, the fine not to exceed 20, and the imprisonment not 

 three months, with a clause that nothing in the act shall prevent 

 persons from catching floating-fish in an oyster-fishery with instru- 

 ments adapted for taking floating-fish only. 



S. True Oysters, with the borders of their valves distinctly 



plaited. 



Of this group, consisting of more than 30 recorded species (recent), 

 0. Cruta Galli, the Cockscomb Oyster, will serve as an example. 

 It has a shell varying in form according to the bodies to which it 

 adheres, but generally somewhat rounded, very much plaited, the plaits 



Cockscomb Oritvr (Oitrta Criila Galli). 



