, 1881-09-04
THE MONTH WITH AN "R"

1 IL
Of course, oysters. There is nothing il the
planetary Influences i'll the heavens, or il
sublunaTy influences OIL the earth, or in the
unknown regions under the earth, that so &C,
curatefy defines the revolutions of the sea-
SONS as oysters. Other influences are liable
to disturbances, either retardng or acceler-
atlnE and deraDglpg calculations, but the
oyster comes in promptly oil the very first
hour Of the very first day Of the very first
month with an nr'' in it, and stays until the
very last hour of the very last dry of the
very last month with an ''r" in it. 1t is not
autumn until the instant the oyster appears !;
it is not summer until the instant he disap-
pears. lie is the only article of luxury in
the way Of food who can stand as
the emblem OF every day i'll the
gastronomcaI calendar from May until
September. There are other articles
Of diet that mark certain divisions of time.
like celery, Strawberries, Bermuda onions,
green apples, sllad, oxl1cart cherries, veni-
son, finan haddics, quai1s, watermelons,
spring lamb, etc, but they only have little
orbits. At best they hardly last from the
first to the lust quarter Of the moon, but tile
oyster is in all his glory for eight full months,
anu spends the other four months spawning
his delicious kind for human voracity. lie
has other nelghbors who carry shells on their
backs, ell the way from clam to crab, but
they mark ITO seasons, arouse no longtng5 i'll
the breast, are not missed if they do not
make their appearance. The oyster cllal
lenges bread, potatoes, steaks, chops in ill
dispcnsabi1ity.
The oyster is ut once democratic and aris-
tocratle-demoeratic in /. stew, aristoeratic
i'll i scal1op. lie is I'LL all lring bait fried
and transtiNeu OIL a fork in the gilded saloon.
lie aids the cause of the church swimming
in lonely grandeur in 4 tureen of soup. No
wedding is complete without him. He
crowns every festive board in his various
forI,ls. lie is tile supplement Of sleigll-rides
and tie denoncment Of dances. He pcne-
trates remote ioggers' CAMPS in cans, and
lie appenses domestic wrath BY coming houlc
late at night, warm i'll his paper box. lie
is the only luxury that eau be eaten in every
form Of cookery known to human ingenuity,
raw, boiled, Droiled, baked, stewed, roasted,
fried, escalloped, steamed, aud picked.
call garnisll every known dish, add
zest to every sauce aM dressing,
aud busy brains are even now study
ins new forms Of presenting him to the
palate. lie is the only shell-fsh that ilu-
inmates the page of history and las made
men famous, the only one preserved in lit
,rary eulogiams, the only one fostered,
and cultivated, the only one pro-
[ccted by jealous statutes Others-clams,
BIS, muscles, and snaits-may come and go
md take care of themselves for aught any
9ne cares. The oyster, like afr. Boftin, is a
Frey to prosperity, the minion and worm Of
-ie hour, and is hailed with acelamation in
.he lovel Of the poor and the halls Of the
-ich. Our readers, therefore, while rejoicing
hat the month with the ''r'' has conle, will
llso rejoice to know that, malicious rumors
md the last long cold winter to the contrary
this delicious fruit Of the
lea will yield bountifuf crop.