THE HOUSE THAT THE OYSTER BUILT. 85 



Because the shell grew exactly in proportion to the size of 

 its inmate. Shakespeare has made the fool ask Lear, 

 "Dost know how an oyster makes its shell?" only to 

 remind the poor king, however, of his houseless state ; but 

 were it repeated now among oyster-eaters, it is probable 

 that but few would be prepared for an intelligent reply, (a) 



If we cannot answer the Fool's question in Lear, we 

 can, nevertheless, tell by his shell what is his age. 



" A London oysterman," says a correspondent of No. 

 623 of the " Family Herald," " can tell the ages of his 

 flock to a nicety. The age of an oyster is not to be found 

 out by looking into its mouth. It bears its years upon its 

 back. Everybody who has handled an oyster-shell must 

 have observed that it seemed as if composed of successive 

 layers or plates overlapping each other. These are techni- 

 cally termed ' shoots,' and each of them marks a year's 

 growth ; so that, by counting them, we can determine at 

 a glance the year when the creature came into the world. 



O ./ 



Up to the time of its maturity the shoots are regular and 

 successive ; but after that time they become irregular, and 

 are piled one over the other, so that the shell becomes 

 more and more thickened and bulky. Judging from the 

 great thickness to which some oyster-shells have attained, 

 this mollusc is capable, if left to its natural changes unmo- 

 lested, of attaining a great age." Indeed, fossil oysters 

 have been seen, of which each shell was nine inches thick, 

 whence they mav be concluded to have been more than 



J J 



100 years old. 



In offering a reply to the question, " How does the 

 oyster make its shell ?" it should be observed that an 

 oyster is endowed, like other animals, as well as plants, 

 (a) " Silver-shell ; or, The Adventures of an Oyster." 



