x INTRODUCTION TO FIRST EDITION, 



the most interesting manner, in terms scientific enough 

 to be accurate, not so scientific as to be hard of under- 

 standing, the life-history of the bivalve. The oyster's 

 exposure to infantile dangers, its preferred home, its 

 dietary habits, its susceptibility of culture, its wonder- 

 ful fecundity, are vividly portrayed. Indeed, this 

 modest volume is at once a memoir in natural history 

 and a chapter of political economy. 



DANIEL C. OILMAN. 



Office of the President of the 



JOHNS HOPKINS UNIVERSITY, 

 April 14, 1891. 



