Washington standard. [volume] (Olympia, Wash. Territory) 1860-1921, 1881-09-09
The Anatomy of an Oyster.

Eiery oyster has mouth, heart, Il
llveF, a stomach, cunningly Devised in
tesiines and other necessary organs,
just as all living, moving and intelll-
gent creatures have. And all these
things are covered from man & rudely
inqaistive gaze by mantle of pearly
SauZe, whose wool aud warp put TO
shame the frost lace on your windows
IN winter. The mouth is at the smaller
Ell: Of the oyster. adjoining the hinge.
1t Is of oval shape, aud though not
readily seen by an unpracticed eye, its
locatir.i and siza can be easily dis
cover 4 10y gently pushing blunt bod
kin oc similar instrument along the
surf: > OF the locality mentioned.
Whtn the spet is found your bodkin
can be thrust between the delicate liz
and considerable distance down to-
ward the stomach without causing the
oyster to yell with pain. From this
mouth IS Of course, ssort of canal
to convey food to the stomach
whence it passes into tho intestines.
With an exceedingly delicate and sharp
knife you can take off the mantle" of
the oyster. when there will be dis
closed to you IL balfEoon shaped space
just above the muscle or so-called
" heart" This space Is the oysters
pericard!um, and within it is thu real
heart. the pulsations Of which are read
lily seen. Ehe heart is made up of two
parts. just as the human heart is, onr
of which receives the blood from the
gills through u network Of blood vessels
and the other drives The blood out
through arteries. ln this important
matter the oyster differs in no respect
from other warm or cold blCoded ami
iDals. Aud no one need laugh incred-
ulously at the assertion that oysters
have blood. 1t is not ruldy, according
10 the accepted notion about blood, but
it is nevertheless blood to all oyster in
tents and purposes. In the came vicini-
ty and In marveilously proper positions
will be found all the other organs
named, but it is very proper to be- in
creduious about that mouth and orgars
AZ first glance it would seem that they
are utterly useless. for the mouth can
not snap around for food and the os ster
has no arms wherewith to grab its din
Ecr or lulch. True, apparently, but
only apparently, for each oyster has
more than u thousand arms-tiny, deli
cate, almost invisible. Aud each one
OF them is iCcessantly at ork gathering
up food and gently pushing it into the
lazy mouth of the indolently comforta-
bic creature. The glls are the thin
flaps SO notably perceptible around the
front face part of the undressej oyster,
below the muscle. Each of these gills
il covered with minute hairlike arms,
very close together, and perpetually in
motion to and fro in the same unwearied
direction. They catch food from the
water, strain it carefully Of improper
suhstinces, and watt it upward over the
mantie's smooth surface to the gaping
mouth. which placibiy gobbles it up
gntil hunger is appoased. and then the
holy goes to sleep without turning over.
Auy one can observe this singular pro-
cess Of feeding by placing a minute
Il Iantity of some harmless coloring
matter on the gills. 1t will not offend
tho oysters delicate palate the coloring
matter will be seen ut once propelled
by invisible hands toward TIE mouth,
ami thence slowly down into the
stomach And this is all l know about
oyster anatomy, except that the liver
almost entirely surrounds the stomach
and is of a dark green color. 1t may be
new to many to know that oysters are
born precisely the same way the shad
and other fish come into the world i.
\ well-educated lady oyster will lay
about one hundred and twenty-five
million .eggs-so it is said; l have not
counted enough of them to strike such
large average-and every one Of those
eggs will ultimately become fit for q
stew or fry if they escape the multitude
of perils that do environ the infant
oyster Baltimore Gazette.