GENERATION OF ANIMALS, III. xi. 



and deposited them in some sea-straits where the 

 currents met." As time passed the oysters did not 

 increase at all in number, but they grew greatly 

 in size. As for their " eggs," * as they are called, 

 these contribute nothing to generation ; they are 

 just a sign of good nourishment, like fat in blooded 

 animals, and that too is why they are tasty to eat at 

 these seasons. A proof of this is that these creatures 

 — e.g., pinnae, whelks and purpurae — have such 

 " eggs " as these always, only sometimes they are 

 larger, sometimes smaller. Others — e.g.. pectens, 

 mussels and the lagoon-oysters as they are called — 

 do not have them always, but only in the spring ; as 

 the season advances they wane, and finally disappear 

 altogether ; the reason being that the spring-season 

 is favourable to their physical condition. In others 

 — e.g., the seasquirts — nothing of the kind is to be 

 detected. For an account dealing with these in- 

 di%"idually, and the places where they grow, the 

 student should consult the Researches. 



verb p€(t} elsewhere in connexion with evpinos, e.g. E.N. 

 1167 b 7 ^e'vet rd ^vXevfiara kcu ov fierappei utcrnep evpiiros: 

 cf. Prob. 940 b 16 oi evpirroi, peovaiv, and De somno et vig. 

 456 b 2\. Gaza's translation luto similia seems to imply the 

 reading ^opfiopmheis, which is entirely against the sense. 

 ' See note on 763 b 1. 



367 



