The Oyster. 75 



at tLe idea of the solitary Oyster doing tliis^ down 

 tliere on liis mud bank or rocky ancliorage ground, 

 sliub up in liis dirty-looking sliells_, and holding, as 

 it seems_, commune with no one, not even his fellow- 

 mollusks j how can he be said to live in royal 

 state, or, indeed, any state at all, except in a most 

 weary, stale, flat, and unprofitable one ? And this 

 only shows how erroneously those often judge who 

 do so hastily, and from first appearances. 



If we take a peep through a microscope, under 

 the direction of a naturalist named Rymer Jones, 

 we shall see that ^' the shell of an Oyster is a world 

 occupied by an innumerable quantity of animals, 

 compared to which the Oyster itself is a colossus. 

 The liquid enclosed between the shell of the Oyster 

 contains a multitude of embryos, covered with 

 transparent scales, which swim with ease ; a hun- 

 dred and twenty of these embryos, placed side by 

 side, would make an inch in breadth. This liquid 

 contains besides, a great variety of animalcul^D, five 

 hundred times less in size, which give out a phos- 

 phoric light. Yet these are not the only inhabi- 

 tants of this dwelling — there are also three distinct 

 species of worms.''' 



Let us see if there are any hard names here that 

 want explaining before we go any further. The 



