The Rise And Decline Of The Ol^mpia Oyster 



1 



Enemies of the Olympio Oyster 



I DO NOT APPROACH THIS SUBJECT FROM THE 

 viewpoint of a biologist, but that of an observer. 



Star fish are fond of any oyster, but the Olympia Oys- 

 ter is its favorite. 



Man must have some kind of a knife with a blade to 

 open and take the meat from an oyster. Not so with a star 

 fish. Nature has provided it with a more direct method. 

 It first wraps itself around the oyster, or if it is feeding 

 on Olympia Oysters several of them at one time. It has 

 thousands of very small but tough and strong tentacles. 

 These have suction cups on the ends. These, after they 

 are attached to the oyster, begin to pull in such a manner 

 as to be a strain on the abductor muscle of the oyster. It 

 resists and holds its own in this tug of war for a time, 

 then gradually weakens, and the shell begins to open. 



(71) 



