MOLLUSCA — PEARL OYSTER. 767 



ters hang in clusters, like apples upon the most fertile tree ; and in propor- 

 tion as the weight of the fish sinks the plant into the water, where it still 

 continues growing, the number of oysters increase, and hang upon the 

 branches. This is effected by means of a glue proper to themselves, which, 

 when it cements, the joining is as hard as the shell, and is as difficultly 

 broken. 



Oysters usually cast their spawn in May, which at first appears like drops 

 of candle-grease, and sticks to any hard substance it falls upon. These are 

 covered with a shell in two or three days ; and in three years the animal is 

 large enough to be brought to market. As they invariably remain in the 

 places where they are laid, and as they grow without any other seeming 

 food than the afflux of sea water, it is the custom where the tide settles in 

 marshes on land, to pick up great quantities of small oysters along the 

 shore, which, when first gathered, seldom exceed the size of a sixpence. 

 These are deposited in beds where the tide comes in, and in two or three 

 years grow to a tolerable size. They are said to be better tasted for being 

 thus sheltered from the agitation of the deep ; and a mixture of fresh water 

 entering into these repositories, is said to improve their flavor, and to increase 

 their growth and fatness. Most of the oysters sold in Boston are taken in 

 some part of Long Island Sound, and kept a year at Cape Cod, where they 

 grow much larger, and are better than when first taken. 



The oysters, however, which are prepared in this manner, are by no 

 means so large as those found sticking to rocks at the bottom of the sea, 

 usually called rock oysters. These are sometimes found as broad as a 

 plate, and are admired by some as excellent food. But what is the size of 

 these compared to the oysters of the East Indies, some of whose shells we 

 have seen two feet over ? The oysters found along the coast of Coromandel 

 are capable of furnishing a plentiful meal to eight or ten men ; but it seems 

 universally agreed that they are no way comparable to ours for delicacy or 

 flavor. The oysters taken on the coast of England have a strong taste of 

 copper, which they derive from the copper banks. They are, at first, very 

 disgusting to an American palate. 



THE PEARL OYSTERi 



Has a large, strong, whitish shell, wrinkled and rough without, and within 

 smooth, and of a silver color. From these the mother-of-pearl is taken, 

 which is nothing more than the internal coats of the shell, resembling the 

 pearl in color and consistence. There are a great number of pearl fisheries 



' Mcleag'rina margaritifera. Lin. The genus Mdeagrina has a shell subequivalve, 

 rounded, scaly without ; a sinus at the posterior base of the valves for the passage of the 

 byssus, the left valve being notched and narrow at this place; hinge linear without teeth; 

 ligament marginal, elongated, almost exterior, dilated in the middle. 



