The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1896-10-14
FACTS ABOUT THE OYSTER.
Wilmington River outlet VIII Not
Endnnger the Health of the CITY.

Endnnger the Health of the City.
! Savannah, Oct. 12.-Ed.tor of the Morn
ing News: There seems to be considera-
BILE objection to the proposed sewer out
let into Wilmington river at Causten
Bluff by the citizens Of Thunderbolt Two
| communications have recently appeared
| in your columns The writers of these
articles have been reading the horror
page" of the World and been scientifically
enlightened 1t is strange that those who
desire information on such subjects,
should choose to get 1t from such a
source, when there are plenty of scien-
tihc magazines always attainabe. If
these writers Health" and Justice"
are firm believers in the World, 1 know
they are afraid to ride on trolley cars,
to kiss their sweethearts or eat butter
Will have to Danish their pet dogs for fear
Of disease germs. but need not fear dying,
as the death germ is to be destroyed
Reading these sensational articles, should
be rather for amusement than instruction.
That picture showing the terrible bacte-
ria IN the mouth of the oyster is perfect
ly ridiculous. oysters do not lie with
open mouths, ready to receive anything
that comes along-they are a highly ner-
| vous and sensitive animal, selecting with
| great care what they consume 1.-THE
| oyster has a much more complex organd-
eaton than ii is commonly credited with
II the bIvalve be carefully opened it will
| be seen that it is completely enveloped
| with thin membrane; this is called the
mantle, and in the living animal lies next
| to the shell and closely adhering to it:
/ he
| and the edges of the mantle are thrust
| forward to the edges Of the opening, COM
| pletely closing any space that might be
! between the mantle and the shell. y
| (Where the Worlds picture shows the ter
| rlDle oacteria). The entire opening be-
tween the edges of the mantle are filed
| with rapidly moving, highly sensitive
GINA. These carry the food towards the
! mouth, Immediately in front of
| which are the sensitive tentacles
which select it's food. All rejected mat
ter (and the oyster is a veritable epicure)
IS thrown into the effiux current leaving
the SHE'LL 1t is quite impossible when the
oyster is open for bacteria to enter ex-
cept between the mantle, these micro
organisms being only about 1-25OOO of an
| men IN length, with their spores consti-
tute the animals food. When bacteria
are consumed as food they have ceased
TO be- 1t is repulsive idea that oysters
consume bacteria? Why more so than that
| plants require manure, or that crabs and
shrimp and chickens eat filth. Bacteria
| assimilated by the oyster becomes oyster.
! Manure assimilated by the cabbage be-
comes cabbage. The word bacteria sounds
to the uniformed as merely poison.
whereas 1t Is in truth our always pres
ent and r-to-be-gotten-rid-o friend.
| The bacteria growing out of the sewage
OF the city, discharged quickly-in a fresh
state-(as recommended by the city en-
gineer), into Wilmington river, would he
| benehcial rather than hurtful to the oyster
beds. They would fatten and flavor the
| oysters, as do the bacteria SO carefully
cultivated by the intelligent dairymen to
| give fine flavor to their choice butter. Ex
perience proves the correctness of this as
sertion. The finest oysters in the world
are taken by the city of London from the
| ThameS, which is perhaps the foulest with
sewage of any river in the world, and they
can't be hurtful, for London is a very
healthy city. The famed Saddle rocks"
We're so-called because found at the Sad
die Rock, East river New York harbor.
The Providence river oyster is especially
noted for its fine favor. The delicate
4 Blue Points, named for the locality where
4 gatheredi all these places must be sub
1ect to heavy sewage flow, 1t is there
fore evident that the oyster grows and at
talns more delicacy and fine
haNok where organic matter Is
| more abundant, (where bacteria
most abound. While it Is supposed that
the germ of typhoid fever has been dis
| covered in some of the oyster beds of the
northern rivers that have long been foul
| with sewage, yet this fact should not ter
rify the oyster interest of this section, as
the typhoid type about Savannah is very
rare and becoming according to the health
officers report, more rare each year Mar
keted oysters do become subject to disease
| germs, as is milk or any like substance
and 1t is in such instances that disease is
most likely to be transmitted-and not
from the oyster Immediately from the bed
or from the milk directly from a healthy
cow. Health and Justice" need not
be alarmed. The city council will be very
sure to intlict no harm on them. Truth
1.-Two grave complaints are made