THE OYSTER, 4! 



The oyster's food, like the clam's, includes minute 

 animals and plants visible only by the aid of the mi- 

 croscope. The same water which brings these contains 

 larger bodies which the oyster can not eat. This 

 coarser fare suits little Crab, who devours it in peace 

 and joy, dropping many fine crumbs which its hostess 

 relishes. So the presence of the crab is a benefit to 

 the oyster; and when it entertains a crab, the oyster is 

 likely to be plump and happy. 



PART 2. 



To many people the oyster appears most interest- 

 ing when it lies on the half shell, or when it floats in 

 a milk-white stew, or when it gives forth the pleasant 

 odors of the frying pan. Thousands of years ago, sav- 

 age men found that oysters were good for food. On 

 the shore of the ocean, they have left immense heaps 

 of shells to testify to their fondness for these delicious 

 mollusks. At one point, on the coast of Maine, lies a 

 pile of these shells measuring eight million cubic feet. 

 Oysters in those far off years, as these remains show, 

 were twice as large as those of the present time. One 

 of them has been found which measured fifteen inches 

 in length. 



The American people of to-day are great eaters of 

 oysters. In a single year, on our coasts, there are 

 taken and sold more than twenty-two million bushels 

 of these bivalves, making over six billions three hun- 

 dred millions of oysters, by count. Seventy-five millions 

 are exported to foreign countries, leaving more than 

 six billions to be eaten by Americans which figures 



