The Bossier banner. [volume] (Bellevue, Bossier Parish, La.) 1859-1952, 1881-06-23
The Anatomy OF an Oyster.

Every oyster has a mouth, a 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 things
are covered from man's rudely inquisi-
tive gaze by a 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 bv
an unpracticed eye, its location and
size can be easily discovered by gently
pushing blunt bodkin or similar in
strument along the surface of the local
ity mentioned. When the spot is found
your bodkin can be thrust between the
delicate lips and a 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 food to the stomach;
whence it passes into the intestines.i
With an exceedingly delicate and sharp
knife you can take off the s. mantle'' of
the oyster, when there will be disclosed
to youa half-moono shaped space just
above the muscle, or so4called "heart."
This space is the oysters pericardium,
and within in it is the real heart, the
pulsations of which are readily seen.
This heart is made up of two parts, lust
as the human heart is, one of which re !
ceives the blood from the giIls through
a network of bloodvessels, and the other
drives the blood out through arteries.
In this important matter the oyster diff
fers in no respect from gother warm or
cold -blooded animals. n And no one
need laugh incredulously at the as
sertion that oysters have blood. 1t
is not ruddy. according to the ac-!
cepted notion about blood, but 5it is
nevertheless blood to all oyster in-l
tents aud purposes. In the same yiein-,
lty and in marvelously 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 are ut
sterlyguseless, for the mouth cannot.snap
around for foods and the soys yster has no
arms wherewith to grab its dinner. or
lunch. True apparently, but only ap-
parently. for. each oyster has more than
thousand arms, tiny, delicate, almost
invisible. And each oneottheml is in
cessantly 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 perceptibfe around the ffont
lace part of the undressed oyster, be-
low the muscle. Each of these .gills is,
covered with minute ohair-like arms
very close together and perpetualIy in
motion 9 to- and fro lin the same un-s
wearied direction, They catch food
from the water, strain it carefully of
improper substances and watt it up.
ward over the mantle''s smooth surface
to the gaping mouth, which placidiy
gobbles 1t up until hunger is appeased,
and then the body goes to- sleep with
out turning over. lAnyioneem observe
this singular process of feeding by plac-
ing minute quantity of some harmless
coloring matter on the gills. If it will
not offend the oysters delicate palate
the coloring matter will be seen at once
propelled by invisible hands toward s.
the mouth and thence slowly down I'M
to the stomach2 And this is ALI / know.
about oyster anatomy, Except that the
liver almost entirely surrounds the
stomach and is of a dark green color.
It, may be new. however, to many to
know that oysters are born precisely
the same way the shad and other fish
come into the world.s "A well educated
lady oyster will lay about 125, 600. 600
eggs--so it is said; / have not counted
enough of them to strike such a large
average and every one of those eggs
will ultimately become fit for stew or
fry if they escape the multitude of
perils that do environ the infant oyster.
-B0ttimore Gazette. Efr}6sIg