43. But Mnesitheus the Athenian, in his treatise on Comestibles, says--"Oysters, and cockles, and mussels, and similar things, are not very digestible in their meat, because of a sort of saline moisture which there is in them, on which account, when eaten raw, they produce an effect on the bowels by reason of their saltness. But when boiled they get rid of all, or at all events of most, of their saltness, which they infuse into the water which boils them. On which account, the water in which any of the oyster tribe are boiled is very apt to have a strong effect in disordering the bowels. But the meat of the oysters when boiled, makes a great noise when it has been deprived of its moisture. But roasted oysters, when any one roasts them cleverly, are very free from any sort of inconvenience; for all the evil properties are removed by fire; on which account they are not as indigestible as raw ones, and they have all the moisture which is originally contained in them dried up; and it is the moisture which has too great an effect in relaxing the bowels. But every oyster supplies a moist and somewhat indigestible kind of nourishment, and they are not at all good as diuretics. But the sea-nettle, and the eggs of sea-urchins, and such things as that, give a moist nourishment, though not in any great quantity; but they have a tendency to relax the bowels, and they are diuretic. 44. Nicander the Colophonian, in his book on the Farm, enumerates all the following kinds of oysters-- And all the oysters which the foaming brine Beneath its vasty bosom cherishes, The periwinkle, whilk, pelorias, The mussel, and the slimy tellina, And the deep shell which makes the pinna's hole. And Archestratus says, in his Gastronomy-- Ænus has mussels fine, Abydus too Is famous for its oysters; Parium produces Crabs, the bears of the sea, and Mitylene periwinkles; Ambracia in all kinds of fish abounds, And the boar-fish sends forth: and in its narrow strait Messene cherishes the largest cockles. In Ephesus you shall catch chemæ, which are not bad, And Chalcedon will give you oysters. But may Jupiter Destroy the race of criers, both the fish born in the sea, And those wretches which infest the city forum; All except one man, for he is a friend of mine, Dwelling in Lesbos, abounding in grapes; and his name is Agatho. And Philyllius, or whoever is the author of the book called The Cities, says, "Chemæ, limpets, solens, mussels, pinnas and periwinkles from Methymna:" but ὄστρειον was the only form of the name for all these fish among the ancients. Cratinus says in his Archilochi-- Like the pinna or the oyster (ὄστρειον). And Epicharmus says, in his Marriage of Hebe-- Oysters which have grown together.