The Osceola times., 1881-10-08
The Anatomy of an Oyster.

Every oyster has mouth, heart. a
liver, a stomach, cunningly devised in
testines, and other necessary organs, Just
as all living, moving, and intelligent
creatures have. And all these hings
are covered from mans rudely inquisi-
tive gaze by a mantle of pearly gauze,
whose woof and warp put to shame the
frost lace on your windows in winter.
The mouth is at the smaller end of the
oyster, adjoining the hinge. Ii is Of oval
shape, and, though not readily seen by
an unpracticed eye. its location and size
can be easily discovered by gently gush-
ing a blunt bodkin or similar instrument
along the surface Of the locality men.
toned. When the spot is found. your
bodkin can be thrust between the deli
cate lips and considerable distance
down towards the stomach without
causing the oyster TO yell with pain.
FROM this mouth is, of course, a sort of
canal to convey the food TO the stomach,
whence it passes into the intestines.
With an exceedingly delicate and sharp
knife you can take Off the mantle" of
the oyster, when there will be disclosed
to you half moon shaped space lust
above the muscle, or so-called heart"
This space is the oysters pericordum,
and within il is the real heart, the pusa.
tions OF which are readily seen This
heart is made up of two parts, lust as the
human heart is, one of which receives
the blood from the gills through net.
work of blood vessels, and the other
drives the blood out through arteries In
this important matter the oyster differs
in no respect from other warm or cold
blooded animals And no one need
laugh incredulously at the assertion tha,
oysters have blood. Ii is not ruddy, ac
cording to the accepted notion about
blood, but it il nevertheless blood TO all
oyster intents and purposes. In the
same vicinity, and in marveously proper
positions, will be found all the other or
gans named. But it is very proper to be
incredulOus about that mouth and or
gans. At first glance il would seem that
they are utterly useless, for the mouth
cannot snap around for food, and the
oyster has no arms wherewith to grab
its dinner or lunch. True, apparently,
but only apparently, for each oyster
has more than thousand arms-tiny,
delicate, almost invisible. And each one
of them is necessarily at work gathering
up food and gently pushing it into the
lazy mouth Of the indolent comfortable
creature, The gills are the thin flaps so
notably perceptible around the front face
part of the undressed oyster. below the
muscle. Each of these gills is covered
with minute hairlike arms, very close to-
gether, and perpetually in motion TO and
iro in the same unwearied direction.
They catch food from the water, strain
it carefully Of improper substances, and
wait it upward over the mantles smooth
surface to the gaping mouth, which pla-
cidly gobbles it up until hunger is APP
peased, and then the body goes to sleep
without turning over. ANY one can OBJ.
serve this singular process Of feeding by
placing a minute quantity of some harm
less coloring matter on the gills. If it
will not offend the oysters delicate pal
ate the coloring matter will be seen at
once propelled by invisible hands to-
wards the mouth, and thence slowly
down into the stomach. And this is all
| know about oyster anatomy, except
that the liver almost entirely surrounds
the stomach and is ofa dark green color.
II may be new to many to know that
oysters are born precisely the same way
the shad and other fish come into the
world. A well educated lady oyster
will lay about l25,000,000 eggs-so it is
said; have not counted enough of then
to strike such large average-and every
one of these eggs will ultimately become
fit for stew or Try If they escape the null
titud of perils that do environ the infant
ovstar