THE OYSTER. 



CHAPTETt lY. 



THE OYSTER AT HOME : 



Its Nature, Colour, and Structure ; Natural Food ; Perception 

 of the changes of Light ; Uses of the Cilia ; Fecundity and 

 Means of Propagation ; Age ; Fossil Oysters in Berkshire 

 and in the Pacific ; Power of Locomotion. 



THE Oyster belongs to those MoUusks whicli are 

 headless, having their gills in the form of mem- 

 branous plates, and are named Lamellihranchiata, from 

 the Latin word Lamella, a plate ; or Conchm, the Latin 

 name for the whole family of oyster, scollop, cockle, 

 mussel, and other well-known biyalves. Properly 

 speaking, only six kinds are fit to take part in the 

 gastromal treat, to say nothing of the sanitary advan- 

 tages the family are good enough to provide for the 

 world at large. These six peculiar and most agreeable 

 aristocrats all belong to the family of .the common 

 oyster, Ostrea edulis, by far the most important tribe, 

 and in fact, that in behalf of whose meritorious qualities 

 I have more particularly taken up my pen. 



The oyster bears different names in accordance to the 

 localities in which it is found, whether on rocky ground, 

 mud, or sand, and has different colours in different 

 places. In Spain, oysters are found of a red and russet 

 colour ; in IlljTia they are brown, but the fish is black, 

 and in the Red Sea, of the colours of the rainbow. The 

 green oyster, the Parisian delicacy, is brought from 



