Gaius Plinius Secundus (Pliny the Elder) on Oysters, From “Natural History”:
168-9. Sergius Orata was the first to lay down oyster-beds — in the Bay of Baiae, at the time of the orator Lucius Crassus, before the Marsian War. His reason was not gluttony but monetary greed. He also obtained good financial returns from his great ingenuity as the inventor of the shower-bath, and then from selling country houses fitted out with showers. He was the first to rate Lucrine oysters as having the best flavour, because some kinds of fish are of better quality in different places: for example, the pike in the Tiber between the two bridges; the turbot at Ravenna; the lamprey in Sicily; the sturgeon at Rhodes; and similarly other kinds, not to make this culinary review exhausting. The shores of Britain were not yet under our control when Orata made the Lucrine oysters famous.
For more oyster lore, see also “A History of the Oyster and the Oyster Fisheries” by T. C. Eyton, 1858: FULL TEXT HERE, which contains such diaristic passages:
” July 7. — Examined a large number of oysters ina fishmonger’s shop in London ; they were said tocome from Jersey, and had all spawned, the ovariesbeing flat and flabby. Obtained a small quantity ofwhitish liquid from the ovary. The ova were veryminute, but some in motion, probably more wouldhave been so, but the oysters had evidently been takensome time, and were exposed in a basket to the lightin a shop window. These oysters had all the appear-ance of being what are technically termed sea-oysters,or such as had not been moved, the shell being coveredwith weed, stones, and other rubbish.
” July 9th. — Examined a large number of oystersat another fishmonger’s shop, from Jersey, some ofwhich had spawned ; these oysters appeared to havebeen moved, as they were much cleaner than the last :this may be explained by the Jerseymen taking oystersat the latter end of the season, laying them down inshore, and sending them to the London market duringthe illegal months, which I am informed is the case.About three in 1000 had the spawn (PI. V. b) exudedbetween the bronchise ; some of this spawn was placedin a tube bottle with salt water, and lived forty-eighthours, although part of the time in my pocket.
” July 11. — Went on board the fishing-smack ‘ Iris,’the property of Mr. Laban Sweeting, who accompaniedme, dredging in the river Crouch with the light dredges,for the purpose of collecting oysters to lay down forthe London market in September. Examined animmense number of oysters of all sizes, but found nosmall ones in spawn, or presenting the appearance ofhaving spawned. Mr. Sweeting is of opinion that theydo not spawn until they are three or four years old ;they are considered fit for the London market at four,five, and six years old, according to their growth,which depends upon the feeding. Very few (three)were found which had not parted with their spawn,out of many basketfuls looked over : there was noappearance of white spawn, as it is called, in any.Among the shells were dredged up quantities of oldshells, stones, and other substances, completelysprinkled over with spat (PI. IV. fig. 4), as the spawnis called by the fishermen : the rubbish called ‘ cultch,’consisting of dead shells, unsizeable oysters, &c., wasreturned to the river.
