Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1889-08-31
NOW FOR THE OYSTER.
The "R" Months and What Scientist
Says About Them.

The man who stays out after II o'clock to-
night may bring home to his wife box of
fried oysters. just after II he can get the
first crack at the first month with an sR" in it.
No appreciative wife can question the motives
of husband who stays out after midnight on
such an occasion, provided he brings the
oysters home in box and not in his pocket.
According to the most honored of traditions
and no one but cold and unsympathetic scien-
fist would think Of doubling 1.-THE oyster
holds cramps and other evil spirits within its
little corpus until the hands of the clock pass
the hour Of IL on the last day of August. A
moment later he is transformed into delicate
tid-bit by the appearance of the month Of Sep
TENDER. The man of learning smiles in q
deprecatory sort of way at all this and is not
disposed to be hard on you for not knowing
better; but he can't deny that an oyster is not
good in any month that hasn't an "R" in it.
THE SCIENTIFIC VIEW.
"One should be very careful about eating
sea products during the warm months" said
DR. Stems of the Smithsonian to a STAR re-
porter. 'They spoil quickly in hot weather
and care should be taken to eat them when
they are just from the water only. The oyster
spawns In the warm weather and is not fit to
eat at that time He is good to eat in the r.
months because they are the cooler and the
cold months. But we may have a hot Septem-
Der and then the r. 'avalleth nothing for the
oyster eater. The oyster has such delicate and
fine tissues that it easily decomposes. Ignor-
ant dealers sometimes think that as long as the
shell is closed the oyster is alive and good to
eat. But that is not true. They are often I'M
mt for food long before they open. These
blvalves are not good in the months that have
no X in them, for those months are invariably
warm, but it does not follow because the month
is spelled with an r. in it that tn i, oyster may
safely be eaten far from the place of taking.
Crabs and other fish spoil easily in warm
weather.
SCALED AND scALELEss FISH.
"It makes some difference" said DIR. Storms,
whether the fish is scaled or scaleless The
scaleless fish spoil quicker. Some homeopath-
lists in prescribing food for their patients make
distinction between those fish having scales
and those having none. They will let the
patient eat the tender-tissued smooth fish
when they would not sanction the use of the
and tender tissues spoil easily and cannot be
eaten long out OF water, except in the winter
time.
should not advise the eating of oysters dur
ing hot September"
DR.. Stems knows about all the mollusks and
has wonderful collection of oyster shells as
well as shells of every other sort in the
museum. The ordinary idea of an oyster shell
is not that it is any way beautiful, but some he
has are Of exquisite form and of delicate color.
One known as the cockscomb is scalloped in
graceful points that ft one in the other and
looks like the proudest crest of the barn-yard
cock. shell identical in variety with that Of
the Chesapeake bay oyster came from Liberia
and held an oyster that weighed pound.