The Wheeling daily intelligencer. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1865-1903, 1897-11-20
Milligan, Wilkin Co.
MANDOLINS $2.65.
sHuN THE SHINY OYSTER.
Chicago Must get Hold OF Some Pretty
Bad BIyales IL this Man Is Right.
MANDOLINS

DR.. Magee. in the Chicago Record:
The oyster may be iikened to a dia-
mond mine, There are millions In it.
millions of microbes. This innocent
looking creature is the depository of
filth. Death turks In Its entrails, only
waiting u favorable opportunity to get
In Its work" and join hands with the
undertaken In final ceremonies.
The oyster for some good reason has
not been endowed with very much in
telligence, but, nevertheless, 1t Is some
what choice In selecting It's daily diet
airy, It regaies itself with the slime
and ooze OF the ocean bed and takes
delight In wlping the scum from the
submarine foliage with its geiatlnous
lips. 1t awaits with eager expectancy,
with open shell and parted lips, for the
delicate morsel of efIluvla that may
chance to come that way from some
nelghboring sewer and devours 1t with
as much relish as does a turkey buzz
2ard Il dead rat in a bayfield,.
This creature Is rather n complex or
ganlsm. Two large lablal flaps v
hang the mouth. 1t has an intestinal
tract, kidney, heart, gills, W gan
glla and n liver that constitutes near
ly one-half OF thebulk of the body. The
reason why the liver Is so large Is OBJ
vious, The function Of the oyster is
strictly that Of n scavenger: It -four
ishes upon the offal of the ocean at the
mouth of rivers where they pour their
filth into the ocean. This diet, so nox-
ious in character, so deadly. In fact,
has given this mollusk an extraordinary
large liver, which Is kept working I'M
ceasinglV to protect the bivalve from
impending death, for the function OF
the liver is to destroy p%oisons. As the
diet OF the oyster consists OF decompos-
ing organic matter, It's stomach at once
becomes the habitation OF every foul
and hateful germ, and Is utterly unfit
for the human stomach; for nature,
common sense and science teach US
that the human stomach was never in
tended to be a burglng ground for scav-
engers.
The oyster has q way OF getting even
with his consumers by injecting them
with disease. Scientific research has
proved that the oyster Is infected with
cancer and typhoid germs. which inhab-
II Its stomach and intestines for a week
at n time. Moreover, cases of typhoid
fever can be traced directly to the oy-
ster, In some cases of Investigations as
many as $50, 900 deadly germs have been
found in sixty drops of oyster Juice. II
is singular that intelligent men and
ONE who are capable of selecting a
wholesome diet from the elaborate pro-
visions OF natures storehouse, still will
engage In this filthy practice. and ne
that Is fraught with so much danger.
1t seems that even the thought OF the
scavenger habits OF these creatures
should be enough to proudce nausea and
to cause one to turn away from such a
Shiny dish.
It almost fills one with horror TO see
n delicate woman, who would not adj
venture to set the sole OF her foot upon
the ground for %delicateness and tender
ness" step into n safe and order n
dozen small oysters ION the shell" and
proceed to swallow them alive and
kicking" with absolute indifference to
the thought that at one gulp millions
upon millions of dangerous and dirty
microbes are swooping down into tho
stomach. As Professor Huxley says:
"When the rapid and slippery morsel,
which IA and is gone like q flash OF
gustatory summer lightning, slides
alonu the palate, few people imagine
that they are swallowing a piece OF
machinery, too, greatly more complica-
ted than n watch"
Now, II people will insist on making
n sepulchre OF their stomachs for the
burial Of these scavengers, they ought
to insist on three things on the part OF
the oyster:
/. That 1t wipe its mouth with a
napkin.
.. That 1t clean It's teeth with a
brush.
n day.