9 1 



relation of value from these notes, but in any case it would 

 seem clear that oysters, like fish, were a luxury, especially 

 to the poor, to whom the whale and porpoise are known to- 

 have been choice dishes, the flesh of the latter, served with 

 bread crumbs and vinegar, having been consumed by the 

 nobles of England in the days of Queen Elizabeth. 



The price of ''Royals" and other oysters vary from time 

 to time, but the men who live by their cultivation go on un- 

 complainingly whatever the state of their special trade may 

 be, and it certainly is not always good. Strikes are unknown 

 to them, and all they object to is interference or criticism 

 by people who are not in a position to understand the 

 difficulties under which they work, though they welcome 

 those who come to learn what they can of their occupation 

 of oyster culture. 



By innumerable indications at sea, and marks on land, 

 by the experience gained by years of apprenticeship and 

 manly toil, following in the footsteps of ancestors during 

 centuries past, the oyster fishermen attain a perfect 

 acquaintance with the ground or flats hidden beneath the 

 waves of the North Sea. They provide us with a table 

 luxury and themselves with a livelihood, and enjoy in fine 

 weather a pleasant occupation, which in winter becomes 

 both dangerous and hard, requiring all the pluck and 

 endurance with which the Oyster Dredgers of Whitstable 

 are so justly credited. 



