Chapter I: Front Matter

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ANCIENT NATIVES OF BRITAIN, ENCAMPED NEAR COLCHESTER.

(_From a curious Glyptic in possession of the Author._)]

THE OYSTER;

WHERE, HOW, AND WHEN
TO
FIND, BREED, COOK,
AND
EAT IT.

LONDON:
TRÜBNER & CO., 60, PATERNOSTER ROW.
MDCCCLXI.

LONDON:
WILLIAM STEVENS, PRINTER, 37, BELL YARD,
TEMPLE BAR.

CONTENTS.

CHAPTER I.

THE OYSTER IN SEASON.

The R. canon correct; Alimentary Qualities of the
Oyster; Profitable Investment; Billingsgate, and
London Consumption; English Oyster-beds; Jersey
Oysters; French Oyster-beds on the Coast of Brittany 9

CHAPTER II.

ANCIENT HISTORY OF THE OYSTER.

The Ancients; Oysters a Greek and Roman Luxury;
Sergius Orata, and the Oyster-beds of Baia; Immense
Consumption at Rome; Failure of the Circean and
Lucrinian Oyster-beds under Domitian, and Introduction
of Rutupians from Britain; Agricola, Constantine, and
Helena; Athenian Oysters, and Aristides. 21

CHAPTER III.

MODERN HISTORY OF THE OYSTER.

Fall of the Rutupian Supremacy; Louis IV. and William
of Normandy; Conquest of England, and Revival of
Oyster-eating in England; The Oyster under Legal
Protection; American Oysters 24

CHAPTER IV.

THE OYSTER AT HOME.

Its Nature, Colour, and Structure; Natural Food;
Perception of the changes of Light; Uses of the Celia;
Fecundity and Means of Propagation; Age; Fossil
Oysters in Berkshire and in the Pacific; Power of
Locomotion 28

CHAPTER V.

THE OYSTER IN ITS NEW SETTLEMENT.

Dredging for Oysters; Oyster-beds and their formation;
Sergius Orata; Pliny the Elder; Baia and the Lucrine
Sea; Roman Epicurism and Gluttony; Martial and Horace,
Cicero and Seneca; Masticate Oysters, and do not bolt
them whole; Mediterranean and Atlantic Oysters;
Agricola and the Rutupians; Apicius Cœlius, Trajan,
Pliny, and the Vivarium 37

CHAPTER VI.

THE OYSTER ON ITS TRAVELS.

The Isle of Sheppey, the Medway, and Whitstable;
Milton, Queenborough, Rochester, and Faversham
Oysters; Colchester and Essex Beds; Edinburgh Pandores
and Aberdours; Dublin Carlingfords and Powldoodies;
Poole and its Oyster-bank; Cornish Oysters and the
Helford Beds; Poor Tyacke, and How he was Done;
Dredgers and their Boats; Auld Reekie's Civic
Ceremonial; Song of the Oyster; its Voyage to Market,
and Journey by Coach and Rail 45

CHAPTER VII.

THE OYSTER AT ITS JOURNEY'S END.

Oyster Stalls; How to Open the Oyster; an Oyster
Supper; Beer, Wines, and Spirits; Roasted, Fried,
Stewed, and Scolloped Oysters; Oyster Soup, and Oyster
Sauce; Broiled Oysters; Oyster Pie; Oyster Toast;
Oyster Patties; Oyster Powder; Pickled Oysters; Oyster
Loaves; Oyster Omelet; Cabbage, Larks, and Oysters;
and Frogs and Oysters 54

CHAPTER VIII.

THE OYSTER AND THE DOCTOR.

Oyster-eating in Prussia; Disgusting Wagers; Oysters
better than Pills, A Universal Remedy; Professional
Opinions; When Ladies should eat them; Repugnance
overcome; Oysters as an External Application; Chemical
Analysis; How to tell if Dead before Opening 68

CHAPTER IX.

THE OYSTER ABROAD.

British Oysters in Ostend Quarters; the Whitstable in
a Slow Coach; Holstein, Schleswig, and Heligoland
Natives; Norwegian and Bremer Oysters; American
Oysters; French Oysters; Dutch Oysters; Mediterranean
Oysters and Classical Judges 75

CHAPTER X.

"THE TREASURE OF AN OYSTER."

Sweet names given to Pearls; Barry Cornwall Proctor's
lines; Component parts of Pearls; Mother-of-pearl; How
Pearls are formed, Sorrows into Gems; Their nucleus;
Sir Everard Home and Sir David Brewster; Curious
shapes and fancy Jewellery; Pearl Fisheries; Bahrein
Island and Bay of Candalchy; Miseries of the Divers;
Pearls as Physic; Immense value of recorded Pearls; A
Perle for a Prince; Most precious Pearls 82

THE OYSTER