Alexandria gazette. [volume] (Alexandria, D.C.) 1834-1974, 1881-09-02
Oazette
PUBLISHED DAILY 8 TRI-WEEKLY BY
EDGAR SNOWDEN.
El:ered at the Postotiice at Als1sndris, Va. Is
second class matter
TEKGs OF sU6SCRIPTIOE
Ghe Advent of the eystar.

Pric.Soly to whom i: is thst We srs indcb.t d
tor the Prohibition traced back to Butler
Diets Dry DirDer," published 10 I599.-'it
is uireisonSbls acd uawhol:soue il all months
that have not an r 10 their namo to cat an
oyster. ."-caunot b, said. Nor DO W, suppcsu
that it mGkes ouch dff:ret C, Eho ic was ths;
hrst fGlm latcd that die uu Wbca all iohthy.
o'cgls:s DO 1ot rec.iVe noHadais with vi q1es-
loIlrg faith. Though they may preach that
even ln midsummer the oyster is edible, they
Will mover be able to overcome the prejudice
impaired to successive generations of cousergs>
tive sud c:edulous oyster eaters. aoy more than
the mass Of the Amerioan people will ever be
Induced to accept the :ulipg of the Uoted
Stases Iress1ry D, p,rtmont 70 the effeos ths.
the oyster is not a hsh. A1ySay, as Mr., Leigh
sings:
"Summer is ended aud autumn is here,
Though tor the present We re not very far in il;
| Oysters are back sgaiu, u,-swfuly DEAR
Sail they arc back, for the mouth he's an r
| 10 |"
Tho iioes of the bard of Cockayne will suem
! not ll;tle strange to readers who rtmember
! how MIR. w eer once detected O natural CON.
nec!lon between poverty aud oysters; and how.
not long before the Pickw;ckiau era, Christie.
Dher n NJrth and hls fellow balquaters of tho
| 'Noces hUbrosst 90" devourtd them by
| Ii .'ies and by hundreds Tho ouy natural
| coant otioa between poverty aDd oysters" 10
| EGG aud nowadays, is to be foutd 10 the fact
| that sny ooe lpdulsiug at all freely 10 oysters
| will soon find himself 90 the high road to in-
digence.
In 1896. oysters wsre to bo had in London
Tor sxnenoe q dCzyu, or cent apiece; they
wAo oVan cheaper in Dublin. Now. in Ire-
| land the pric, ranges from iorty-6ve to fifty
ceot:; Will, in England it is from ftty to ssv-
| eUty-hve c.nts. and tho oysters are not large
ones by any means. 1t is jlst quarter of
century siuce the fisheries 10 England, ireland
and fta6os first indicated exhaustion. snd re-.
vessd tn int.Jliaact. s1ou.- D,uuu tnen, the
EogIish have only known two good seasons,
those OF 1858 and 1859. and the tail of the spst
10 recent years has SHOWN that no amendment
need be cxpecfed of the uopromising situation
until st the very earliest, 1885. Immense as
should be the supply of oysters under favorable
oreumsauccs-oae oyster prodCce5 from 275.I
900 TO 1000 yourg-lt ls absolutely necessary
.has the water should be warm when the spat
lsIls. or it will sink 70 the bottom and die; aud,
| by sone mslsIchoiy colncdcrc,,y yesc after year.
| even 10 the phenomenaly hot seasons of 1862
| 70, ''oold sosp' has occurred at the critical
time. The English have not had the fore
thought of their prudent &c systematic French
nes boIs, who, ss soon as they fourd their
| o. :er-6shsrio5 5:h.estened-the famous grounds
10 tho Bay of Oaucale yielded 1900, 900 oysters
! 10 1868 ard forty times that number in lS4S-
| set to work to cultivate the precious shell6sh
arifciali3. There are now in France some
25 600 acres Of oysler FARMS With more than
10. 600 cui!iVa'ors, and, OF the 600. 900 600 or
or 100000 600. oysttr3 marketed annually,
! ouly q quarter como from the fisheries,
gaitiug, thanks to the policy IF protection and
recupere,ioo. The Freuch oysters most 10
fashion. it may be said, are those of Mareunes
sud OF Ostend, which are small, but very tender
aad savory, and are of grsyish green c,Ior,
produced by keeping them for some eight
wceks in pits filled with salt water but very
slightly changed. 1t need hardly be said that
unscsupuous French dealers and farmers couu.
terfei; these oysters ty using solution of salts
of copper. in seme Cases sufficiently strong to
produce ,usea ucd slight poisoning. IL is
worth recording, as one Of tho anomalies OF
fashion. that tee English ri ot green te.rded
oysters ct home as uuhesltnY. and pay fancy
prices for them at Ostend.
TIE oyster is not esteemed in England till it
has reached its fifth or sixth year. Au analysis
OF the meat shows that it is composed of (l)
water, containing hydroohIorste OF soda. hydro
chlorate of m m.gnesia. and sulphstes of soda
lime and magness; ~ much phosphate of iror
aud lime; ~ much amtzonc aod glyoogeD; al
o certain quantity Of gelatioe aud mucus; IS
an aniraI material, of which phosphorus is the
principal eemeLt Mr. Bucklspd deemed il
| oltp,,
h.vo their oysters served Oh the round shell,
with the ps,ural quor left in tine hollow. II
ls little curious that be did not at the same
time condemn the prac,ice OF swallowing oys
ers whole
Dr. William Roberts, 10 bis lecture % tht
dse. tive fefueuts, gives this passage: THE
oyster is al@cs; the only animal substenc
which we eat babi usIly, aud Dy preference, il
the raI or uncOUktd state; ind 1t IS ioterestipj
= 10 kpow t5at there is souod physiologica
reaeon 6! the bottom of this preters1ce. Th
taWu coored mass Whloh Constitutes tho daiot,
of the oyster is its liver snd this j, little lei
rhsn q hesp of Gycogen. Associated with th
G Yoogen, but withheld from &C u,l contact will
le during lille. is ils APPROPRIATE digestive fer
J. nent-the hepa,io dIasase The mere cruah
!, ing IF the daiuty between the teeth briog
1 these Two bodies together. and the G ycogen
1t ouce disgasted without Other help By its on
disstase. The oyster in the uacooked state, Q
merely warmed. is, 10 fact, self digestive. Bu
the advantage of this provision is wholly 10.
y ty cot kIg. Tor the heat employed immedis.ei
Il drslrey5 tie as: o lated fsrmept; and cooke
oyster has to b, digesttd. like any other food
ty the eater's ow0 digestive powers.
lmmenss az is the consumption of oysters i
the United S!ales. SO great is the supply-an
, it is espcci.y gratifying to ob,erve tha. th
question fi;s conservation is recslving atteu
,lod 10 due tims,-that We shall long bsve
surplus fer exporsaton TO Europe. where
A market is always open for them. 1t We arc nt
10 error, tie experiment cf trsnsplnn,iDg tbe
to Eoropesu beds hs bceo tried on lare
scale 90 the ooss; o. : il, saig. where this fall!
experience should deciie as to the prob,b
\ measure of its sCcccss. However, with IA
ocean steamers and refrigerstiog appsrat Us,
81 s.e - IA lnn1