|6S THE EDIBLE OYSTER. 



over the beds. As soon as taken from their native 

 beds they are stored in pits formed for the purpose, 

 furnished with sluices; through which, at the spring 

 tides, the water is suffered to flow. This water, 

 being stagnant, soon becomes green in warm wea- 

 ther, and, in a few days afterward, the Oysters 

 acquire the same tinge, which renders them of 

 greater value in the market : but they do not ac- 

 quire their full quality, and become fit for sale, till 

 the end of six or eijjht weeks. 



The principal breeding-time of Oysters is in 

 April and May, when they cast their spawn, or 

 spats, as the fishermen call them, upon rocks, stones, 

 shells, or any other hard substance that happens to 

 be near the place where they lie, to which the spats 

 immediately adhere. These, till they obtain their 

 film or crust are somewhat like a drop ot a candle, 

 but are of a greenish hue. The substances to which 

 they adhere, of whatever nature, are called cultch. 

 From the spawning-time till about the end of July 

 the Oysters are said to be sick, but by the end of 

 August they become perfectly recovered. During 

 these months they are out of season, and are bad 

 eating. This is known, on inspection, by the male 

 having a black and the female a milky substance in 

 the gill. 



The Oyster fishery of our principal coasts is regu- 

 lated by a court of admiralty. In the month of May 

 the fishermen are allowed to take the Oysters, in or- 

 der to separate the spawn from the cultch, the lat- 

 ter of which is thrown in again to preserve the bed 

 for the future. After this month it is felony to carry 



