The star and Newark advertiser. [volume] (Newark, N.J.) 1908-1909, 1909-02-03
OYSTERS NO NOVELTY.
Even Helen of Troy May Have
Eaten En-.

THE oyster is the key to that para
disc called appetite"
That's what Professor John r. Phil
pots says. and he knows more about
oysters than all the shuckers from
Chesapeake Bay to Cotuit, says the
New York Sun.
Just why we think of oysters as a
modern dainty it would be hard to tell,
but probably nalf of the men and
women who scan the oyster section of
the bill of fare do cherish that delu-
sion. Nevertheless, in Nero's time mil
lions of bushels of oysters were eaten
annually in Rome.
But even Nero becomes an object of
pity to the American when he read
that the best of the oysters he had
to eat were imported from Britain.
Probably the Roman emperors had the
same delusion hat we have. They
doubtless considered that in providing
an oyster course at their ~banquets they
were bringing their menu strictly up
to date.
They didn't know that in primeval
times the oyster shucker was an i'm
portant parsonage This must have
been so, for In the remains known as
kitchen middens in Denmark, there are
thousands and thousands of oyster
shells bearing evidences of having been
artifcially opened. Not only that, but
Or. Schlicmann, in his search for the
ancient city of Troy, found oyster shells
in the ruins of the prehistoric settle
meuts Of Hissarlik,
4 writer in the National Magazine
says that the oyster is valuable not so
much for it's nutritive qualities-aud
these must not be underestimated by
any for 'its peculiar condi-
mentality and it's ready digestibility.'
For the invalid it is especially valuable,
for It Is the only known food that will
not at some time or another nauseate
the patient, being unquestionably the
most easily digested of all animal foods
Some reputable physicians, however,
have maintained hat the use Of the
oyster should never be permitted any
diabetic patient. The Lancet, the most
influential medical organ in Great Bri-
tain, disagrees with this. 1t says:
According to our analyses The
amount of liver sugar in the oyster was
very small, and certainly considerable
less than half hat found by previous
observers. We made a number Of en-
perimerts Oh this point. and in no in
stance did the amount Of glyCogen in
the raw oyster exceed 1 per cent.
"A further examination of the or
ganic portion of the oyster reveals the
presence Of klycero-phosphoric COM
pounds, which are now used in medi-
cine in the form of lecitline and of the
glycero-phophates Of the alkaline metals
for the purpose of improving the gem
eral nutrition of the nervous system.
THE results On the whole show that
although the actual amount of nutri-
tive material in a raw oyster is small,
yet this material comprises all classes
Of food substances, namely, proteid,
carbohydrates, fat and certain mineral
salts. Moreover. the flesh of the oyster
undoubtedly contains these substances
In a peculiarly assimiliable form.
Apart from the extreme delicacY OF
the oyster and from it's peculiarly ap-
petizing flavor, there are, we think, rea-
sons OH purely dietetic grounds why
attention should continue to be given
to the cultivation Of the oyster. which
as the foregoing results indicate, is an
excellent article OF food