236 WHEEE THE SPAWN GOES. 



powerful microscope, and find it to be a liquid of some little 

 consistency, in which the young oysters, like the points of a hair, 

 swim actively about, in great numbers, as many as a thousand 

 having been counted in a very minute globule of spat. The 

 spawn, as found floating on the' water, is greenish in appearance, 

 and each little splash may be likened to an oyster nebula, which 

 resolves itself, when examined by a powerful glass, into a thou- 

 sand distinct animals. 



The oyster, it is now pretty well determined, is hermaphro- 

 dite, and it is very prolific, as has been already observed, but 

 the enormous fecundity of the animal is largely detracted from 

 by bad seasons ; for, unless the spawning season be mUd, soft, 

 and warm, there is usually a very partial fall of spat, and of 

 course quite a scarcity of brood j and even if one be the pro- 

 prietor of a large bed of oysters, there is no security for the 

 spawn which is emitted from the oysters on that bed falling upon 

 it,_ or within the bounds of one's own property even ; it is often 

 enough the case that the spawn falls at a considerable distance 

 from the place where it has been emitted. Thus the spawn 

 from the Whitstable and Faversham Oyster Companies' beds — 

 and these contain millions of oysters in various stages of progress 

 — falls usually on a large piece of ground between Whitstable 

 and the Isle of Thanet, formerly common property, but lately 

 given by Act of Parliament to a company recently formed for 

 the breeding of oysters. The saving of the spawn cannot be 

 eifected unless it falls on proper ground — i.e. ground with a 

 shelly bottom is best, ibr the infant animal is sm-e to perish if 

 it fall among mud or upon sand ; the infant oyster must obtain 

 a holding-on place as the first condition of its own existence. 

 Oysters have not on the aggregate spawned extensively during 

 late years. The greatest fall of spawn ever known in England 

 occurred forty-six years ago. On being exuded from the parental 

 shell, the spawn of the oyster at once rises to the surface, where 

 its vitality is easily affected, and it is often killed in certain 

 places by snow-water or ice. A genial warmth of sunshine and 

 water is considered highly f^ivourable to its proper development 

 during the few days it floats about on the surface. It is thought 

 that not more than one oyster out of each million arrives at 

 maturity. It is curious to note that some oysters have immense 

 shells with very little " meat " in them. I recently saw in a 

 restaurant several oysters, much larger externally than crown- 

 pieces, with the " meat " about the size of a sixpence : these 



