The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1907-03-16
GREEN OYSTERS.
Prot. E. H. S. Bailey Makes a
Report on Painted Bivalyes.
Finds Color Is Caused by Copper
or Blue VitriOl.
DUE TO OYSTERS DIET
Night Be Dangerous If Present
in Sufficient Quantity.
Best Plan Is to Avoid Eating
the Green Ones.
DUE TO OYSTERS DIET

| Green oysters is the subject of the
latest pure food report issued by Prof
E. H S. Bailey of the State university.
and printed in the March bulletin or
| the state board of health.
There has been during the closing
oyster season a large quantity of green
oysters sold in Kansas. Some people
have supposed that the oysters were
spoiled and have refused to eat them
but it turns out, from Prof. BaileyS re-
port, that the green color is proba bly,
due to copper. The question is, where
do the oysters get their copper, and
does it exist in sufficient quantities to
be dangerous to the human stomach?
Prof. Bailey concludes that the cop
per, or blue vitriol, is not put into the
oysters by the shippers or retailers,
but comes from the oysters own Pc
culiar habits of diet.
One sample of oysters examined by
Prof. Bailey contained about 8 grains
of copper or blue vitriol to the quart of
oysters. Another sample went grains
to the quart. another 6 grain per
quart, Prof Bailey says:
I'm regard to the occurrence of cop
per in oysters, this has been ascribed
to various causes, but there is no evil
dence that would lead one to believe
that it Is introduced by the shipper or
dealer Herdmann and Boyce, who
nave made extensive Investigations
state in the Proceedings of the Royal
society of London, 1899. that "a dis
eaSed condition we found in a certain
American oyster very soon brought us
in contact with the vexed question of
the greening of oysters, and one of the
first results we arrived at was that
there are several distinct kinds of
greenneSs in oysters. Some of them,
those of some rivers on the Essex coast
are healthy. and others. such as Fail
mouth oysters, containing copper, and
some American oysters rebedded on
our coasts and which have the pale
green color, 1eucocytosis' described In
our former paper to the Royal society,
are not in a healthy state. Some
forms of greenness are certainly as
soCfated with the presence of a largely
increased amount of copper in the oys-
ter5, while other forms OF greenness
have no connection with copper, but
depend upon the presence of a special
pigment. "marennin.''
1.-THE investigators find that there is
more copper in the green American
oysters than in the colorless ones. and
more proportionately in the green parts
than those that are less green. They
conclude. therefore. that the green
color is Cue to copper. There is more
iron in the green American oyste~ than
in the colorless. In the Falmouth oys-
tiers. containing considerable copper,
much of this copper is certainly me-
chemically alta ched to the surface of
the body and is insoluble in water, so
that 1t may be basic carbonate. These
in the tissues than does the normal
colorlesS oyster. In these oysters the
cause of the green color may be the
same IS in the green American variety.
"Langworthy in Fish as Food re-
CARDS the gTeening of oysters to be due
to the consum ption by the oysters of
certain forms of green algae, the col
oring material of which is soluble in
apparently harmless. This celebration
is evidently due to a different cause
from that of some of the samples pre-
viously examined.
Although a small amount of COP
per in oysters may not be an indica-
ton that they are injurious. yet the
comparatively large quantity men,
toned in some of these cases Indicates
that such oysters should not be used
as food. Tho soluble compounds of
copper are poisonous. A medicinal
dose of copper sulphate, used some
times as tonic, is from three to four
grains; il a larger quantity-frorn five
to fifteen grdins--is administered. it
will act as an emetic. AS small a
quantity as seven drachms of blue
vitriol or copper sulphate has been
fatal to the life of an adult. Large
quantities produce symptoms of poi
soning such as violent vomiting. and, |
later, severe pain in the stomach and |
lower bowels. A small quantity of cop
per is found in the human body, espe- |
cially in the liver. In this organ the |
has been found to be 1 part in
100000, and in the kidneys 1 part in
100000. This is, perhaps, not a neces-
sary constituent of these organs, but |
rather some copper that is incidentally |
taken in with the food and has been |
very slowly eliminated. It is possible |
that some of the cases of so-called pto- |
maine poisoning. which have been as
cribed to the presence ot copper or pto- |
maines in oysters, may really be due to |
the presence of copper or some poi |
zoEous min sral salt We know that |
there have been cases of severe poi !
soning from eating oysters that were |
4 bsolutely fresh; so in these cases, If |
there is ptomaine present. it would |
be one naturally found in the oysters, !