Forest and Stream, May 21, 1904
THE OYSTER OF THE CITIES.
Sea -- Shellfish - Oystering : Re-immersionSea -- Shellfish - Oystering : Sanitation
THE talk and the writing about oysters and typhoid germs of which there has lately been so much, while at first it may be harmful to the oyster trade, may, on the other hand, be helpful to those who enjoy good oysters. For years past there has been complaint among people who imagine that they know what oysters should be that the highly esteemed, old-fashioned bivalve of good flavor has disappeared from the land, and its place has been taken by a white, plump simulacrum, fair and lovely to the eye, but flat and tasteless to the palate -- a real dead sea apple. From this has arisen the present day practice of drenching the oyster with vinegar, horseradish, and tabasco sauce, in the endeavor to give it some flavor.
Dr. Morris points out in the admirable note on this subject which we print to-day that oysters which have been "floated" at the mouth of streams, or, as in the large cities, have been taken from the salt water, kept in cellars, and drenched constantly with fresh water, become plump, white, and handsome, but also have washed from them all the salt and all the true oyster flavor, and very soon become, in the opinion of many veteran connoisseurs of the oyster, unfit to eat. This practice has long been known, and is apparently not objected to by the public, most of whom do not know what a real oyster is and should be. Oysters so treated are destined for use in cities, or for export to Europe, or for inland consumption.
The possibility of the oyster carrying typhoid bacteria to the eater is a very real one; yet, on the other hand, perhaps more people are killed each year by lightning than die of typhoid fever contracted from eating oysters. Nevertheless, since the danger is real, and since it is one of the most stupid things in the world to take unnecessary risks, it is the part of wisdom for all consumers of oysters to frown on the fattened bivalve.
While this condition does not prevail everywhere, it is almost universal in large cities, and still more so away from the seacoast. Yet if you go to some little New England or New Jersey or Maryland village on the coast, and eat oysters there fresh from the local waters, you will enjoy those that are delicious, and entirely different from those furnished at the most high priced restaurants or in the wealthiest homes of New York, Chicago and Philadelphia.
It is acknowledged that to the eye the fattened oyster is more attractive than the natural darker and more shrunken one just from the salt water; but it may reasonably be urged that people do not eat oysters for the gratification of the aesthetic senses, but for the gratification of the palate.
Dr. Morris' letter performs a real service in pointing out that the fattened oyster is a sick oyster, and in thus warning the public of the truth about this delicious shell fish. The oyster dealer need not fear this truth. If his trade has been injured, he has the remedy in his own hands. Let him abandon his present methods and furnish his customers with the genuine oyster, not the diluted product of modern times. On the other hand, the consumer of oysters has the power to protect himself from the danger of eating sick oysters, and to correct the present practice of the dealers. Let him demand the natural shell fish, which the dealer can furnish just about as cheaply and conveniently as the white and tasteless article that the dwellers in large cities are now content to eat.
The Typhoid Oyster Question.
Sea -- Shellfish - Oystering : Re-immersionSea -- Shellfish - Oystering : Sanitation
IN a murder trial in the western part of New York a few years ago, the jury became so confused over the expert testimony that they brought in a verdict of arson in the first degree, although, as shown by reference to the stenographer's notes, there had been no reference to the question of arson in the testimony, or in the charge by the court.
So much is being written upon the subject of typhoid fever and oysters at the present time, that a good deal of confusion results, and some people may get to feel that their bunions were caused by eating oysters from knobby shells.
The principal question may perhaps be stated concisely as follows:
1. Oysters feed upon minute organisms, including algae and bacteria.
2. The bacteria which the oysters obtain from salt water are harmless, so far as we know.
3. Typhoid bacteria belong to fresh or brackish waters.
4. When oysters are placed in fresh or brackish waters for "fattening purposes," they collect quantities of typhoid bacteria along with their other food.
5. It is not a question of the oysters becoming infected with typhoid bacteria, but a question of their carrying a collection of the bacteria to market in their gills.
6. Nevertheless, an oyster that has been "fattened" in fresh or brackish water is a sick oyster. The reason why it is a sick oyster is because the salts in the body of the oyster are intended to maintain an osmotic balance in salty water, and when the oyster is placed in fresh or brackish water, the tissues swell up by endosmosis, and present a whiter appearance, at the same time losing character and flavor.
7. Oysters that are known to have come directly from salt water are delicious and safe, so far as we know, and the matter is entirely in the hands of the customer. If he calls for sick and pretty oysters he can get them; or he can call for salt oysters and get the right thing.
ROBERT T. MORRIS, M.D.
NEW YORK, May 12.