Oysters.

wester , Oilskin and Sea Boots , and feel myself " a man , " aud able , to a great extent , to set the elements at defiance . Our worthy skipper , rejoicing in the name of Pooner , escorts me to the beach , which was yesterday occupied by groups of amphibious individuals , each with his

hands iu the lowest depths of his pockets —for it appears to be a great breach of etiquette for a long-shoreman to show the least particle of his hands , except to attend to his pipe . The shore is now a scene of life and animation , there being about three hundred men , all going on the same errand as ourselves , in parties of three to six . Launchins or rowing off in skiffs

to their respective yawls , each man appears to be working against time for a wager . It is a fine fresh morning with a cool wind , which makes one , as Mr . Pooner says , glad the 3 ' are alive . Our skiff is Ring about half afloat on the beach , with the sea dashing against her . I feel a pleasurable

sensation in being able to walk into the sea without getting wot , owing to my sea boots . With a cheerful "Jump in , Sir , " from the skipper , who at once follows me , I am in the skiff . Our two hands , Jack andBill / 'shove her off" into deep water . and

then jump iu themselves . We are now fairly away for the yawl which is lying off some little distance in deeper water . I find already the use of my oilskin , as we get rather more than a shower of spiiy over us occasionally . After a five minutes pull in company with the other skiffs ,

making it appear like a monster wh . ding expedition , we come alongside our yawl , a smart littlecraftabout thirty feet long , which our skipper is justly proud of , and were it not for the fishing- number painted on the side , might be taken for a yacht . There are about ninety of these yawlswhich

, really do credit to their owners for the way in which they are kept . Many of them are almost unequalled for sea goiii " and sailing qualities , proved by the prizes taken at some of the local regattas . We are now on board , and all is bustle aud

hurry , hoisting the sails , and letting go the slip , to which the yawl is made fast , during which time nearly every halyard , rope and spar seems to get under my feet , and every one , apparently , wants to come just where I am standing ; but we are now under weigh , and sail along at a spankingrate under two reefs and small jib , with the

sea flying over us , and the bulwarks often a good deal under water . Our craft being a fast one , we pass lots of the other yawls and seem like winners in a regatta ; the skipper tells me how in the years 1856-7-3 they had spats of many thousands of pounds worth of brood or young Oysters . Such

years they would like to see again . Each dredger-man is an equal shareholder in the ground , and each boat takes the same share as a man , but owing to having so small a quantity of brood for so many years , their incomes , of course ,

have greatl y diminished . Th-3 dredg ing mornings are , usually , two or three times a week in the season , so that the dredgerman leads a tolerably easy kind of life . He may work occasionally at tide-workwhich is really attending to

, , and cleaning the ground , if he feels disposed , and for which he gets extra pa 3 . The company is managed by a jury elected by a court or general meeting held annually . As we are sailinsr alone I notice the

dredges . These are iron triangles with one side shorter than the other two . The short side is flat , and about two inches wide , which acts as a scraper when dragging along the ground under water , thus scooping up everything loose , indiscriminately into a kind of bag , which is fastened on

behind the dredge , made of leather and string , and when full holding about two ordinaiy size house pails . As we are now on the ground , the three dredges are each made fast to a long rope or wharp , the other end of which is fastened to the gunwale .

They are then heaved or thrown clear of each other , and we soon notice the difference in our speed . As the dredges touch the ground they act as three skids to the vessel .

Our skipper , Mr . Pooner , who is steering , looks the picture of health , with his nut-brown skin , and bright , cheerful , sailorlike face , has a slight difference of opinion with Jack and Bill as to where is the best part of the ground for us to dredge , but

as the skipper has the helm his arguments are unanswerable , aud he slyly winks at me , while Jack and Bill , each of whom appear to differ from each other , express their opinions with rather more force than would be permitted under Naval discipline ; in fact it appears each one in the boat knows better than the other two . upon all