[This essay was put together after Emerson's death from a number of commencement and similar addresses he had made. It appears in The Complete Writings of Ralph Waldo Emerson, edited by Edward Emerson].
Freshly shucked oysters can be immersed in water and placed in shallow, air-tight containers in the freezer. Freezer temperatures should be below zero degrees Fahrenheit. Oysters can be frozen for up to three months.
Shucked oysters can stay fresh in refrigerators with a temperature below 35 degrees Fahrenheit for up to seven days, as indicated by SafeOysters.org. Keep the oysters in the coldest part of your refrigerator.