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Aesop's Fables - Tales with Morals . Mother Goose . Mother Goose in Prose
THE DEVELOPMENT OF THE OYSTER.
Attention has been thus far entirely directed to the topic of fish, so
that it now becomes necessary to turn to that of oysters. It will be
found, however, that the actual state of affairs in connection with our
oyster fisheries is not at all inspiriting. But before entering upon
this matter it will perhaps lead to a better understanding of the whole
question if some preliminary remarks are made upon the subject-heading.
In doing so it will be most desirable to have recourse to an account
given, not so long ago, by Professor Huxley--at that time Inspector of
Fisheries--since he speaks with the weight of authority. Referring to
the oysters in the old country, he says that during the summer and
autumn months, from about May to September, according to varying
circumstances, the oysters pass into a peculiar condition known to the
fishermen under the name of "sick." In this state the greater number
contain a whitish substance, consisting of numberless granules held
together by a sort of slime. The whole is known as "white spat," and
the numberless granules are really the oyster eggs. Slowly and slowly
the interior of the eggs assumes a darkish hue, tinging the whole mass
so much that it is then termed "black spat." Within the space of a
fortnight the mass of "black spat" breaks up, and the young oyster is
set free.
Mr. Frank Buckland has been fortunate enough to actually see
this taking place. The oyster appears to await its opportunity, it
stealthily opens its shell, and a lot of spat looking like a dense
cloud is ejected. After a minute or two another cloud appears, and this
is continually repeated till the performance is concluded. Myriads of
young oysters thus liberated from parental control now enter upon the
free swimming or locomotive stage of their existence. That is to say
they remain near the surface of the sea, although incessantly moving in
every direction.
After a variable time, however, they suddenly descend and attach
themselves to any suitable substance, on which they at once become
distinctly visible in the form of white dots. In their restless stage
they are scarcely discernible by the naked eye, but they settle down so
rapidly and in such numbers that they appear to fall down through the
water. This is known to oyster fishermen as a "fall of spat," and we
shall see that this fall of spat is an important occurrence, but that
it varies greatly in different seasons.
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