The Portland daily press., 1881-10-14
The Anatomy of an Oyster.
The succulent Bivalve's Mouth, Heart
and Digestive Organs.
baltimore Gazette.l


Every oyster has a mosth, heart, liver,
stomach, cunningly devised intsstines and
other necessary organs, just as all living,
moving and intelligent creatures have. ana
all these things are covered from man'srudely
inquisitive gaze by mantle of pearly gauze,
whose woof and warp put to shame the front
lace on your windows in winter. The mouth
is at the smaller end of the oyster, adjoining
the hinge. 1t is of oval shape, and though not
readily seen by an unpracticed eye, its location
and size can be easily discovered by gently
pushing blunt bodkin or similar instrument
along the surface of the locality mentioned.
When the spot is found, your bodkin can be
thrust between the delicate lips and a consider
able distance down toward the stomach with
out causing the oyster to yell with pain. From
this mouth is, of course, a sort of canal to con-
vey the food to the stomach, whence 1t passes
to 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 Just above the
muscle or so-called heart" This space is the
oysters pericar iium and within it is the real
heart, the pGlsations of which are readily
seen.
The heart is made up of two parts, just as
the human heart is, one OF which receives the
blood from the gills through a network of
blood-vessels, and the other drives the blood
out through arteries. In this important mat
ter the oyster differs in respect from other
warm or cold-blooded animals. And no one
need laugh incredulously at the assertion that
oysters have blood. 1t is not rudy, according
10 the accepted notion about blood, but it is
nevertheless blood to all oyster intents and
purposes. In the same vicinity, and in mar
velously proper Positions will be found all the
other organs named. But it is very proper to
be incredulous about that mouth and organs
At first glance it would seem that they were
utterly useless, for the mouth cannot snap
around for food, and the oyster has no arms
wherewith to grab his dinner or lunch. True,
apparently, but only apparently, for each oys-
ter has more than Thousand arms-tiny, deli
cate. almost invisible. And each one of them
is necessarily at work gathering up food and
gently pushing it into the lazy mouth of the
indolently comfortable creature.
The gills are the thin flaps SO notably per-
ceptibe around the front face part of the I'M
dressed oyster, below the muscle. Each of
these gills is covered with minute hair-like
arms, very close together, and perpetually in
motion to and fro in the same unwearied di-
rection. They catch food from the water,
strain'it carefully of improper substances, and
watt it upward over the mantle's smooth sur
face to the gaping mouth, which placidly COB
bles it up until hunger is appeased, and then
the body goes to sleep without turning over.
ANY one can observe this singular process of
feeding by placing minute quantity of some
harmless coloring matter on the gills If it will
not offend the oysters delicate palate The col
oriDg matter will be seen at once propelled by
invisible hands toward 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 stom ach,
and is of dark green color. 1t may be new
TO many that oysters are born in precisely the
same way that shad and other fish come into
the world. A. well educated lady oyster will
lay about 125 000,0 900 eggs-so it is said; have
not counted enough of them to strike such
large average-and every one of these eggs
will ultimately become fit for fry or stew if
they escape the multitude of perils that do en-
viron the infant oyster.