New-York tribune., 1882-03-05
THE BRITISH OYSTER.
HIM, The pnH llnN Gn-eNe.

From Ihe PtlH lfol G0-oHe.
There is, however, one British institution whose
honor every truc-bOn Englohman-bc be Tory or
R1drcaI Churchman or Dissenter-feels ready TO
defend with the last drop of his blood and the last
wag of his tongue. India may perish, the Peers,
thc Throne. the Church may perhaps pass away.
and opinion may be divided among ue about their
fate but attack the fame OI the English oyster ana
YOU touch at once tender chord which reYerDerates
Sympathctically to thousand cherished beliefs III
every individual British breast There Is only one
native and Whltstable Is his dwelling place. mat
is an article OF the English faith which Time ana
tide will leave forever niOuchcd. In Other re
sDects foreign travel and cosmopolitan views may
make men less satisfied with their domestic lnStltu-
tions; but wide and varied acquaintance WIN INC
oysters OF the world makes an enlightened LuSHsn
pa late only the confirmed III Its sngle-hearjed
deSot to the one genuine oyster OF our own De-
Yet the inferior American imitation is not with
ont certain subsidiary value OF Its own. IL acts
rs a saiety-vaye for the excessive ostracOphag0uS
tastes OF the undlScrmlnatlng public N0H cH''5
homiui every man is not born an eplcuIei ana
though we all admit that the American oyster IS
but "a poor mspld thing tcslde What Oulua "oulu
doubtless call =" the genuine LuCrne, yet there are
pcople who can put up with them, ana VINO thus
keep down Jhc price OF natives niue ior the tiue
pa.tronomcr Even at home. IN Boston or New
Haven Blue Points and saddle Rocks are never
really oystcr-like. They have the outward sem
blauce of an oyster IL IS true, but they are lacking
in the inward graces and sayors when distinguish
our own and OnJ native. Poor Mr.. Frank Buck-
land had an uiallble test for the quality ol oysters
which everybody can Immediately apply the best
hay,r I'd he used TO say. are those IN winch the
mlims1 itself bears the largest proportion to the
she'll around il. Judged by this standard, all
American oysters fail TO come up 10 the right
mark The nuweIIlng animal is often positively
gigantic no doubt-at New-lork restaurant we
have occasionally seen one which could only be
disposed of in large quartcrS-but the shell Is stl
vascr and is ont of all due ratio to { be meat II IN
closes. Our own native. on the other hand, though
absolutely the smallest among the SOUS OF the
primitive OstreaceCus ancestor, Is still round and
plump and well favored, and he lies ike picture
in the midst OF his small, thin, lridescent SHE'LL
which hardly Outweighs its well fed occupant. All
other oysters TALL into their places between these
two extremes. The clumsy American Is the
coarsest and most iusipid of all. Next comes the
quaint tropical oyster. which grows between tide
marks among the mangrOye swamps OF the W est
Indies or the African coast, and which, though very
fornlcss from its funny Labt OF accommodating ITS
.hape to the branches which II cllngs, Is never
thele,s decidedly better favored than the mild Blue
Points which America tries 10 palm Oh upon our
uu,lspccting classes Then the Ango-POrugueSe,
when fresh has some modest merit OF his own ;
though he cannot compare with tho small green
huiite de Hdre,ame that one gets so fresh at loulOn
and many other places along the western Mediterra-
mean shore Highest OF all rank the oysters OF the
English Channel on either side; though even here
the r0cherS dc CdacLie cannot for moment compare
with our own unapprOachabe Nhtstable natives.