178 Indigenous Oyster Generally. 



These, however, were described as altogether a poor lot, of little 

 value. The neighbourhood of the Wallet has always been 

 reckoned as every now and again, after good spatting seasons, 

 to be a sure place to find small areas of indigenous native 

 oysters. As to the Pont at the Blackwater exit, its constancy 

 and prolificness have been phenomenal. 



In 1900 there was a wonderfully great fall of spat inside 

 (shorewards) of the Buxey, and some 50 sail were there in the 

 autumn hard at work. It was reckoned they got about a 

 "wash "to a man. A "wash" is equal to 4 gallons. Three 

 men and a lad to each smack would earn say about 7s. 6d. each 

 daily. 



To sum up, it can be pretty surely affirmed that our 

 indigenous oyster at one time was spread in banks here and 

 there over all the area of the Thames estuary taking this 

 in its broadest sense (N. Foreland to seaward of Harwich) 

 besides holding once upon a time a footing in the now much 

 altered Sandwich district. Its locations one by one un- 

 fortunately have been rooted out, till at last the Pont and 

 Kentish Fiats are about the only survivals. Thus, therefore, 

 it behoves our Fisheries Committee to investigate their 

 condition closely at intervals and carefully safeguard their 

 utter destruction, alike in the interests of dredgermen and 

 oyster cultivators. Most fortunately, meantime, several well 

 known cultivated beds in both counties produce without a 

 doubt the finest oyster in the world, and thus retain a perfectly 

 legitimate hold on the mercantile public by their rearing under 

 more favoured conditions the product of the Fisheries District 

 itself. 



Size. -Concerning the dimensions of our Native Oysters, 

 we may take these as they are sold in Billingsgate, say 3 

 inches (or to be more accurate 2f inches by 3 inches) in 

 diameters, represents an average size of the trade Natives. 

 Primes range from 3 inches up to 4J inches in diameter, any 

 larger may be reckoned rare in the ordinary market stock. 



