36 ^ WESTERN SERIES OF READERS. 



unfortunate bivalves out of sight. They are help- 

 less creatures, and cannot dig their way out, as 

 clams might do, and so they are liable to perish 

 before the oyster-men are able to go to their as- 

 sistance. 



So you see that the raising of oysters, like the 

 raising of cattle, is attended with much expense 

 and many difficulties; and though their food costs 

 nothing, — for they eat the little living particles 

 that exist in sea-water, — still it is not probable 

 that they will ever be very cheap on this coast. 



This seems all the more true, since young 

 oysters are continually being brought from the 

 East, instead of being raised here at home. It is 

 thought that the very young oysters, which come 

 from the tiny eggs of the old ones, mostly perish 

 in the cold waters of the bay before they get a 

 good start in life, and so the traffic in " Eastern 

 oysters " is likely to go on for many years. 



BliACKBOARD WORDS. 



extensive (ex-ten'siv), material (ma-te'ri-ril), contri- 

 vances (kon-triv'an-sez), acquaintance (ak-quant'ans), 

 conveniently (kon-ven'yent-ly), triangular (tri-an'gu- 

 lar), particles (piir'ti-klz), continually (kon-thi'u-al-ly), 

 slaughter (sla'ter). 



