Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1889-02-02
HISTORY OF THE OYSTER.



He Has an Ancestry Running Back to
Before the Christian Era.
ANCIENT AND MODERN LOVERS OF GOOD LIVING
HAVE RECOGNIZED TIE BrvALvK's SUPERIORITY
As DELICIOUS ARrIcLK OF FooD-rHE AMER
IcAN OYSTER suRPAssEs AL oTHKRs.
There are those even in this age Of wise
acres who believe that the oyster is an Ameri-
can institution. duly patented and trade
marked with genuine Yankee triumph and en-
terprise. Or, admitting that il has Q foothold,
so to speak, in foreign waters, have no idea
that its ancestral lineage can boast Of a very
ancient date or Of any very distinguished char
acters such Is Saddle Rocks, Lynn Ravens or
Cherry Stones of American notoriety. But &C
cording TO Pliny, very level-headed individual
named Sergius Orsta carried on oyster-plant-
ing, with a good deal Of commercial acumen,
GOO years B. c., and produced certain brands"
which he made his swell patrons pay
dearly for. At later date Cervantes
was q noted oyster-eater, though he satirized
those who dealt in them most outrageously.
Napoleon Bonaparte loved oysters, too, and. 1t
is said, invariably ate them on the eve of a
battle. if possible to be had. Among English
celebrities Alexander Pope was a noted patron
OF bivalves, and so was Dean Swift Thomson.
he Of THE Seasons" knew Of good things, and
knew just how good a thing a well-seasoned
oyster was. Bertram, in his Harvest OF the
Sea-" spoke of the ''oyster-ploys" Of old
Edinburgh town, "held in quaint and dingy
taverns, where quality ladies and gentlemen
folks were plentifully but rudely served"
Could those ancient and semi-ancient epicur-
cans have had even a well-defined sniff Of any
of the hundred and one aromatic dishes at the
service of any of Washington's popular restau-
rateurs what rapturous dreams II would have
engendered of futurition-the very substance
of something longed for, positive evidence of
| things unseen.
For great while the oyster was unassigned
to either the vegetable or animal kingdoms
he was looked upon an outsider. without ORR
gin, parentage, or intention, as liable to side
one way as the other. Plato sorely puZ-
zled over ii, and had his deductions been an
nounced in conformity with the progressive
ness Of this age he would doubtless have classi-
fed 1t as typical ''mugwump" of the aquatic
creation.
THE OYSTER EXTRAORDINARILY CONSIDERED.
As an article of food for mankind but few
productions Of the vegetable or animal king
doms are of greater importance or more nutri-
tious, not so much on account of its general
elements as of a special one No animal,
aquatic or terrestrial. contains so large a pro-
portion of phosphorus in its composition, and
1t Is a well-established fact that one of the
most important constituents of the bones and
tissues of mammalian organisms is phosphorus,
and In proportion to the supply Of that element
to the human brain will cerebral energy and
mental activity be manifested.
No morsel ever glided down the psophagus
OF human being equal in deliciousness to a
fat. plump, fresh, saltish oyster with a
dash Of condiment or a few drops of lemon
Juice dropped upon his carcass as it lies in
tempting tranquility upon a half-shell-the
only beverage necessary. II any be. to develop
its transcendental lusciousness being finely
brewed ale. There is no alimentary substance,
not excepting bread, which can be eaten with
out danger of indigestion at times save the
raw oyster. They can be eaten raw at all times
effect. History tells us that Seneca, the
renowned moralist, would dispose of one hun
dred at his lunch, and that the emperor, Vitel-
Illus, could eat one thousand at a meal Per-
haps, however, that was the time spoken of
when there were giants in those DAYS." gas
Economically, at least, or may be there lived a
gigantic romancer or two about that time. Or.
probably, the oysters themselves were to blame
for lack of robustness. such as are often
donated In this age by enterprising advertisers
to church fairs and charity organizations.
In almost every city and town on this con-
unent there are to be found numbers of
restaurants and eating houses whose where
abouts are announced by gorgeous placards or
luridly illuminated signs. Good palatable
dishes can be had in many of them. but in far
many more the succulent Cherrystone, or a
contemporary, is stranger, and there reigns
In Its stead diminutive, cherries, pebbly
mollusk that is disgrace to its race.
The largest and most finely favored oysters
are sold by frst-class restaurateurs over their
counters by the dozen on the half-shell, and in
ninety-hve cases out of one hundred a sable.
polished face. white-aproned negro stands and
nan ne fhnn pnln and .ax a#rA
white competitors have cleverly initiated
but never equalled. Steamed oysters
are a favorite with most people, but
the fry" and stew" are most largely patron
lied because cheaper. The ''broil' is next in
favor. and then comes the 'escalloped."
Roasted oysters have peculiar flavor and a
most appetizing odor. especially when dropped
into a sauce of melted butter, pepper, and
cream. Indeed oysters are popular served in
any STYLE even in that which Charles Lamb re-
terred to when, upon a strangers poking his
head into a crowded omnibus and asking: "All
full in here?" he replied, Il don't know how it
is with the others, but that last piece of oyster
pie did the business for me-"
THE ANATOMY OF THE OYSTER.
However lowly the oyster may be, his COM
pick anatomical structure manifests a perfect
adaptation to the creatures necessities. The
thin layer of flesh lining the valves is known
as the mantle" and envelopes the entire
body. 1t is the oysters pallium, and at the
same time is instrumental in procuring the
food upon which il is to be nourished. These
membranous mantles are fringed at the edges
with rows of tiny ella, or soft fieshy hairs of
extreme delicacy with a sense of touch ex-
quisitely acute. The incessant motion of these
ella keep up constant agitation of the water
around, when feeding, and bring to il the
spores and animalcula upon which the animal
lives. These are carried back to the mouth,
which is located at the hinge of the shells.
The gills are the respiratory organs, as with
the fish. The heart, like that of any other ami
NAL, has its auricles and ventricles and
beats with regular pulsations. 1t has
complete circulating apparatus, arteries
and veins to perfection. The color Of the oys-
ters blood is pale, blush white-it might be
called opaline-and the cardiac pulsations are
plainly visible. The sex is as decided and
cognizable as in any other animal. 1t has a
nervous and muscular system complete All
animals endowed with powers of locomotion
have a propelling ganglion or center. This
does not appear in the anatomy of the oyster,
and for this reason it is incapable of moving
about. They are eyeless and consequently
blind, but this optical absence is compensated
for by its exquisite sensitiveness to impress
sions.
ITS CREATION AND GROWTH.
The spawn, or ''spat' as it is called, Of the
oyster, at first appears to belong to the vegeta
BILE kingdom, but it develops it exhibits
more vigorous and decided character In a