The Ottawa free trader. [volume] (Ottawa, Ill.) 1843-1916, 1864-06-04
ABOUT OYSTERS.

Oysters are Of many different colors. liz
| Spain, they are red or rus5et; in 1ilyria
they are brown, nay, black. Conceive the
amazement efany legal gentleman lunch-
ing al frosser's, and coming suddenly up.
on black lllyrian. Those ia the Red
ora are o, all the colo-s OF the rairbow-
mat F"risian delicacy, the green oys or,
Is brought from Brittany; but the .ame
hue can be induced in others by putting
them Ia pi's where the water Is about
! three feet deep in the salt marshes, and
where the sun has great power The pro.
pagatiou Of the oyster is effected by self
produced eggs which it bears w:t,.i!. In
the form OF a greensh juice, which il casts
a' spat in May. This liquor, if viewed
through microscope, VIII be found TO
contain multitudes Of small oysters, GOV.
cred with smells, AID swinnInx n!mbly
asout-onr hundred and twenty Of which
extend about an inch Indeed, one mil
lion Of young have been discovered in
single oystor. Guarded By two tender
shells they move freely in the sea when
sJected By their parents, until, av means
OF q glutinous substance, they FIX them
selves at last 10 some object ia. they can
be separated only o. force Thee young
are very soon aLle TO produce others
some say =. soor rs four months attc. birth
but even wneu ss large As = crown piece.
the shell IS siii. very tender aid thin. aad
!. Is only after sos.- year. ,ha. ,a-y BE-
come Ii! for food
Inc aEa Q! AT cys.s. !. not O.. : ci!scoy-
cred Ike that of hose. !, .--: gift
oyster In the neu,h, and indeed =: : tx.
psc'ed that you should - 50, b.. . o.. Up
on RS she'll " Il s"s.> is ,-a.a u;.om II.
back. Everybc.T '... :, ...iled an
oyster shell, mus! u..: oJscry -u that i:
seems as II compcs'E o.. suCcsssiy. lurers
or plates overlapping cacn other These
are Technically called snoots, usd each
OF them marx Ie,. groHtn, So iaat by
counting them, wG c.. determine It a
glance the year wien .Da ~....-.r, came
into the wo:!d Up + ;.s ..-.- To-. $ ral.
turity, the shocts are !.g-.a. -.d --cc.s
sIHe; but Ate. that they are y..cu one
above the oiaer, so that the shell uecours
more and more thICkenrd and bulky
Judging from the great tn!ckuss, To
WHICH come oyster shells have attained
this ulollu-k, i! lef, 10 It's natural changes
Ununie-ted, reaches u gIeatas- IhUrrei
fossil oysters have been founi more than
one hundred years old IL .censwendrr
IL! that Creatures 30 prolific and So lo, :
iiNsd should ever cost 50 much as still
ing dozen, q. they do at the present
time even with French go.l and butter
Included
The offspring generally remain near tie
mother, which accounts tor those huge
ersisr banks in tho .ea which in some
places have attained such magnitude as
TO cause sh.rs to be wrecked upon them
ihelr .mnepse proportions may be best
usderst to"d ~ !nsv-ct.us the fossil oyster
led at ,eaa.ts H.. fossils, which nua;
have .a.n - TX :ro-i ne n,u,emorial, have
Just the same st-ys and substance - re.
ceE. o:s;s. shell. and the bed occupies
.iA acres. f0rLE .a- stratum two feet ta:ck.
Ihe fossil oysterbanks raised by ea.%I
quakes along tse western shores Of South
America measure f.cm sixty 10 eighty .eet
IN derts, are often forty miles in length
and III many cases stretch about tno
mica into the INTERIOR C.GmjU. Jes-nd!