[174] See B. iii. c. 23.
[175] See B. iii. c. 9.
[176] They probably gave the name of “oyster” to some other shell-fish of large size. In Cook’s Voyages we read of cockles in the Pacific, which two men were unable to carry.
[177] From τρὶς, “thrice,” and δάκνω, “to bite.”
[178] Ajasson remarks that many persons are unable to digest oysters, in an uncooked state.
[179] Ajasson remarks that calcined oyster-shells formed an ingredient in the famous lithontriptic of Mrs. Stephens, a so-called remedy which obtained for her a considerable reward, voted by the English Parliament in the middle of last century.
[180] A statement purely imaginary, Ajasson thinks; the liquid of this class of shell-fish containing no element whatever to fit it for an antidote.
[181] Or antidote.
[182] In B. xxvi. c. 66.
[183] Many varieties of sea-weed are now known, Ajasson says, to possess this property, and are still used by savage nations for colouring the body. In Europe, the use of indigo, madder, and other tinctorial plants of a more decided character, has caused them to be entirely neglected for dyeing purposes.