The History of the Royal Society of London/Part 2/Paper 14
THE
HISTORY
Of the Generation and Ordering of
GREEN OYSTERS,
Commonly called
Colchester - Oysters.
In the Month of May the Oysters cast their Spawn (which the Dredgers call their Spat); it is like to a drop of Candle, and about the bigness of an half- penny.
The Spat cleaves to Stones, old Oyster-shells, pieces of Wood, and such like things, at the bottom of the Sea, which they call Cultch.
'Tis probably conjectur'd, that the Spat in twenty four hours begins to have a Shell.
In the Month of May the Dredgers (by the Law of the Admiralty Court) have liberty to catch all manner of Oysters of what size soever.
When they have taken them, with a knife they gently raise the small brood from the Cultch, and then they throw the Cultch in again, to preserve the ground for the future, unless they be so newly Spat that they cannot be safely severed from the Cultch; in that case they are permitted to take the stone or shell, &c. that the Spat is upon, one shell having many times twenty Spats.
After the Month of May it is Felony to carry away the Cultch, and punishable to take any other Oysters, unless it be those of size (that is to say) about the bigness of an half Crown piece, or when the two shells being shut, a fair shilling will rattle between them.
The places where these Oysters are chiefly catch'd, are called the Pont-Burnham, Maiden, and Colne-Waters; the latter taking its name from the River of Colne, which passeth by Colne-Chester, gives the name to that Town, and runs into a Creek of the Sea at a place called the Hythe, being the Suburbs of the Town.
This Brood, and other Oysters, they carry to Creeks of the Sea at Brickel-Sea, Mersey, Langno, Fringrego, Wivenho, Tolesbury, and Salt-coase, and and there throw them into the Channel, which they call their Beds or Layers, where they grow and fatten, and in two or three years the smallest Brood will be Oysters of the size aforesaid.
Those Oysters which they would have green, they put into Pits about three foot deep, in the Salt-Marshes, which are overflowed only at Spring-tides, to which they have Sluices, and let out the Salt-water until it is about a foot and half deep.
These Pits from some quality in the Soil co-operating with the heat of the Sun, will become green, and communicate their colour to the Oysters that are put into them in four or five days, though they commonly let them continue there six Weeks, or two Months, in which time they will be of a dark green.
To prove that the Sun operates in the greening, Tolesbury Pits will green only in Summer; but that the Earth hath the greater power, Brickel-Sea Pits green both Winter and Summer: and for a further proof, a Pit within a foot of a greening Pit will not green; and those that did green very well, will in time lose their quality.
The Oysters when the Tide comes in, lie with their hollow shell downwards, and when it goes out they turn on the other side; they remove not from their place unless in cold weather, to cover themselves in the Ouse.
The reason of the scarcity of Oysters, and consequently of their dearness, is, because they are of late years bought up by the Dutch.
There are great penalties by the Admiralty-Court, laid upon those that fish out of those grounds which the Court appoints, or that destroy the Cultch, or that take any Oysters that are not of size, or that do not tread under their feet, or throw upon the shore, a Fish which they call a Five-finger, resembling a Spur-rowel, because that fish gets into the Oysters when they gape, and sucks them out.
The reason why such a penalty is set upon any that shall destroy the Cultch, is because they find that if that be taken away, the Ouse will increase, and then Muscles and Cockles will breed there, and destroy the Oysters, they having not whereon to stick their Spat.
The Oysters are sick after they have Spat; but in June and July they begin to mend, and in August they are perfectly well: The Male-Oyster is black-sick, having a black Substance in the Fin; the Female white-sick (as they term it) having a milky Substance in the Fin. They are salt in the Pits, salter in the Layers, but saltest at Sea.