, 1876-08-27
Faith, an T had yon tub t. the brim
Filled wi oysters, I'd swallow EN-,

pus, In one of the old English comedies When
he said:
Faith, an had yon tub t. the brim
Filled wi oysters. I'd swallow EN-.
Mistress Merry-What! i midsummer
But Sir QU1NTUs, like many another ostrrsn
thropist, was far in advance Of his age. Ere,
at much later date there were very str,.
gent laws In England governing the oyster.
fishery. Bishop sPRAT, In his very interesting
paper On '4The History OF the Gene1ation
and Ordering OF Green Oysters, Commonly Called
the Colchester OYSTERS" refers to these repnla.
tions as follows: t'After the month Of Mar !,
is felony to carry away the cultch, and punish.
able to take away any Of the oysters, unless \
be those Of size hat is to say) about the bienes,
OF haH-crown piece, or when, the two shs]t
being shut, a fair shilling will rattle between
them"
The oyster is by no means modern luxurv
People sitting down to one OF the marble-tou
tables in a Madison street oyster-house betort
steaming bowl Of the concoction ponnlarlp
known as <sstew," or, perhaps, before plats
containing on It's surface the rows Of damn
shells with their pearly interior thrown Omen
and exposing the obese and tender mo]lusk; Or
better yet, before the voluptuous sea~prodpct
incased in delicate and warn-tinted coating Of
crumbs these people, we repeat, do not often
pause and reflect that what they are NOW tea,t
ing upon at moderate cost is the same kind Of
dainty which once adorned the banguet-tab}e.
of the Roman Empcrors< JuVESAL, in his Fourth
Satire, declares that the Roman gourmands
we're frequently at the great expense Of bring
ing oysters from the coast of Britain to their
feasts. So highly were oysters esteemed BY
A1,., op+orpriefnrx
the scheme OF transp1anting them from the
Northern seas to the Mediterranean. We hare
so high au authority Is PLINT for the statement
that SERG1us OvArA established artificial oyster
beds at Baiae. It Is equally certain that slnf-
lar beds we're started in Lake Fusars, Ii,
Acheron Of VIRGIL.
In our generation, the oyster fourishes most
aud to the best advantage in Chesapeake Bay,
and in the culinary preparation Of the bigalve,
in so motlnlating the time, the heat, the eoadi
ments, to the oyster itself, IS to convey to TIT
epicure the kceuest delight and the kindest ~
membrance, there is no city like Baltimore, and
there are no cooks like the Baltimore cooks
There are to be found no great, strapping ruff
ans, Who smash the shells with hammer and
sling the poor, unohending oyster into the bat.
ter, like doughnuts into kettle, without one
atom Of remorse for their ofense not only
against humanity, but against all laws of
artistic cookery. They gently persuade the
reluctant shells apart, tenderly lift thereffom
the fragile, quivering morsel, and, with Labor
so incessant and loving as to be worthy OF all
praise, watch over each phase Of the oyster as il
dawns gradually, under the benefcent glow oi
the furnace, into the more perfect and admir-
Bile state of true edible. Would thdt some
what of their spirit might be transfused into
the cooks Of this city!
And yet, the oyster raw Is not without itt
good points, The prime necessity involved In
its being eaten in this condition is that it shall
be Of a succu1ent 1argeness- The small oyster
is no more fit to be taken raw than Is the fat
oyster to be stewed. Both have in this way
their appropriate spheres. In regard to tho
extent of size proper for the III" oyster
little tan be said, since it Is
not definitely settled among conuoisseurs how
or where they are limited in their natural
growth. In general terms, it may be stated that
there has never yet been found specimen too
gigantic for q human being to accomplish at
swallow. It is true that there are vague legenda
Of oysters looming up, far back in the dusk Of
antiquity, into vast and luscious dimensions,
but unfortunately these traditions hare neve1
been verified. 4 historian Of ALE1ANDER's e1:
pedition relates that in India there were found
oysters a foot long. Alas! that gross and gul.
gar science should interrupt SO pleasing tale
by dcaying India even the possession Of solt
tary oyster-bed.
In England the oyster has always been the
fayorite Of royalty and commono1ty. The beds
OF Rutiplceae we're considered the best in the
world before the Norman Conquest For many
years now the English have had to depend on
artificial beds for their supply, and these exist
all along the coast, at Bricke1-sea, Lang7ot
Mersey, Fringrego, Wivenho, Faleshury, and
Salt -Coase. Here it is customary to plant them
In pits about feet deep in the salt Marshes
whence the sea is let out through sluices, 1eaT-
ing the water about foot and half deep. This
water, standing for a long time IN the sun, a.
sumes greenish tinge, which is communicated
to the oysters themselves, rendering them pecn'
liarly palatable to the Partisan epicures. The1r
only enemy while in the water is fish called
the fivehnger, or spur-rowel, which gets into
the shell when the oyster gapes and sucks 1t
out. It Is true, as Sir ANTHONY CARLISLE re-
marked, that the shelly case OF the oyster is its
sole security.