The Portland daily press., 1872-03-18
THE PRESS.
MONDAY MORNING, MARCH IS, 1879,
The American Oyster in London.

While, as we learn, the Spaniards are Civ
ing fetes in honor of the arrival there of Gen
eral Sherman, we are having decided sensa-
tion in London over the arrival of still more
distinguished American, namely, the Ameri-
can oyster The English people have for a
long time known of the excellence of the
American bivalve only by fame. Last year a
company was formed to import it, and 1 be-
lieve the stocks sold well. The present i'm
portation, however, has not come through
that company, but by certain folk who have
anticipated its operations. The company
means, or so it is understood, to have certain
ships which shall be virtually made into trav-
cling oyster boats, SO that there shall always
be fresh supply. The oysters we are now
enjoying have been brought over in barrels,
in which they are daily splashed with salt
water. But they must have been brought in
considerable quantities, as they are to be
found in nearly all oyster saloons, and are
sold at eighteen pence the dozen, which is
exactly one-half of what we have to pay for
the English natives-the only English oysters
which are not too coarse for anything but
cooking. The English know nothing about
eating oysters in any but the raw form, with
the exception of using the large, coarse and
cheap ones as sauce for fish. The "native
OYSTER" as it is called, is undoubtedly very
savory. The most patriotic American speed
lily learns to like it, though all foreigners no
tice the strong flavor of copper it possesses,
and are at first repelled by it. Of this copper
flavor, strange to say, the English obstinately
refuse to know anything. They deny that it
has any such flavor. Mr.. Frank Buckland,
who devotes his life to the culture of oyster
spat and salmon, has repeatedly described in
the Land and Water, and other journals for
which he writes, the oyster-beds where the
natives are born and bred; and he has shown
that they have to be transferred from their
original beds at time when they are so green
with copper that they would be poisonous, to
other beds, where they become pure enough
for human food. And yet when you mention
the copper taste your English friend looks at !
you askance, and has no doubt that you are
trying to belittle the institutions of his coun-
try. Nor is he less patriotic than the Ameri-
can in vindicating the superiority of his oyster
above all Others. l was once dining at
Pimm's, the most extensive oyster rooms in
London, with an English member of Parla-
periority of the American bivalve, when, on
looking up, perceived on his face absolute I
incredulity. But, while was feeling quite
helpless before this, the man who was OPEN
ing the oysters for us put in word: "What
the gentleman (meaning me) says is quite
true, sir. We had a barrel of American
oysters in this house once, and they were bet
ter than any we've ever had, before or SINCE"
Of course you will say my member of Parlia-
ment gave in at once, after Pmm had spoken.
On the contrary, he declined another dozen
of natives" which / am sure he had con-
templated, paid his bill and went out with
whitening smile, and, suspect, takes his
luncheons elsewhere. l have observed since
the American oysters have been on sale that
their excellence is chiefly appreciated by the
oyster openers. At the saloon at the head of
Haymarket, the man who opened the first
one for me held held it up, turned it round,
pretended he had something to scrape about
it with his knife, but really feasting his eyes,
and utterly unmindful that he was keeping
me from embracing a dear old friend whom
had not seen for many years. When the
second was opened-it was the very first lot
that had ever been in the establishment-the
mute astonishment with which he had
viewed the first would not do for the
magnificent specimen of the New York bay
which was revealed "Billr' he cries to
companion little way off. "Bll, jest take
look at that here hoyster afore it goesp' Bill
comes over with his eyes wide open. ''Wut's
that 9' is his question. 'That's Hameri-
can" ''Good Lordp' calculates Bill, as he
sees the bivalve disappear. When the dozen
are fairly opened, the men taste one and dis
cuss the subject, and they agree that there
was never such bivalvular koh-i-noor or
crown jewel in the coronet of Neptune. Yet
passing by the same place nearly week after
ward, the man told me with surprise, "Hen-
glish people { 1'tlike them. That's why you
are getting the,i so cheap" But when the
Englishman goes beyond the raw oyster;
when he is gradually initiated into the stew
ed, the fried, and all those artistic prepara-
tutions at Washington, why then you may
expect to hear him advocating the substitu-
ton for the British lion of an oyster rampant.
London Letter to Cincinnati Commercial.