256 IMMENSE QUANTITIES OF OYSTERS TAKEN 



with safety. Monkeys are no less ingenious. Dampier saw 

 several of them take up oysters from the beach, lay them on 

 a stone, and beat them with another until they had demol- 

 ished the shells. Even the fox, when pressed by hunger, 

 will eat mussels and other bivalves ; and the raccoon when 

 near the shore subsists on them largely, particularly on 

 oysters. 



' A curious anecdote appeared in *' BelFs Weekly Messen- 

 ger," of 7th January, 1821. A tradesman at Plymouth, 

 having placed some oysters in a cupboard, was surprised on 

 finding in the morning a mouse caught by the tail by the 

 sudden snapping of the shell. At Ashburton, a Mrs. All- 

 ridge had placed a dish of oysters in a cellar. A large 

 oyster soon expanded its shell, and at the instant two mice 

 pounced upon the " living luxury," and were at once crushed 

 between the valves. The oyster, with the two mice dang- 

 ling from its shell, was for some time exhibited as a curiosity. 

 A better natural mouse-trap could not be imagined. 



Among birds the mollusks have many enemies. Several 

 of the duck and gull tribes derive a portion of their subsis- 

 tence from them. The pied oyster-catcher derives its name 

 from this habit. Several kinds of crows likewise feed upon 

 shell-fish. Vultures and aquatic birds detach shell-fish 

 from the rocks. 



The consumption of oysters is recorded in earliest his- 

 tory, but their cultivation in the manner just described is a 

 modern invention. This may account in some sense for the 

 excessive and greatly superior production of this country. 

 Though England and France have made lately rapid strides 

 in this direction, their production combined could hardly 

 equal that of our own land. The quantity taken from our 

 waters is far greater than is generally supposed by those 

 not familiar with this important business. The best statis- 

 tics are necessarily very incomplete, and also uninteresting 

 reading, though much might be said respecting the number 



