ketchup, a little chopped lemon-peel, 1/2 teaspoonful of chopped
parsley.
_Mode_.--Boil the oysters for 1 minute in their own liquor, and drain
them; fry them with the butter, ketchup, lemon-peel, and parsley; lay
them on a dish, and garnish with fried potatoes, toasted sippets, and
parsley. This is a delicious delicacy, and is a favourite Italian dish.
_Time_.--5 minutes. _Average cost_ for this quantity, 1s. 9d.
_Seasonable_ from September to April.
_Sufficient_ for 4 persons.
[Illustration: THE EDIBLE OYSTER.]
THE EDIBLE OYSTER:--This shell-fish is almost universally
distributed near the shores of seas in all latitudes, and they
especially abound on the coasts of France and Britain. The
coasts most celebrated, in England, for them, are those of Essex
and Suffolk. Here they are dredged up by means of a net with an
iron scraper at the mouth, that is dragged by a rope from a boat
over the beds. As soon as taken from their native beds, they are
stored in pits, formed for the purpose, furnished with sluices,
through which, at the spring tides, the water is suffered to
flow. This water, being stagnant, soon becomes green in warm
weather; and, in a few days afterwards, the oysters acquire the
same tinge, which increases their value in the market. They do
not, however, attain their perfection and become fit for sale
till the end of six or eight weeks. Oysters are not considered
proper for the table till they are about a year and a half old;
so that the brood of one spring are not to be taken for sale,
till, at least, the September twelvemonth afterwards.
SCALLOPED OYSTERS.
I.