TURKEY AND OYSTERS. 286 



already spoken, let the inquiring reader exercise great 

 self-denial, and lay aside one oyster for the purpose of 

 examining its curious structure. We will now plunge 

 the mollusc into boiling water for a few seconds, which 

 will have the effect of killing it without materially 

 injuring any of the delicate organs with which we shall 

 be concerned. Insert the tip of the oyster-knife be- 

 tween the edges of the shells, force them slightly apart, 

 and then look inside. The mass of the body will be 

 seen in the centre, and pressed against the shell are 

 two flat dark-edged flaps, popularly called the ' beard.' 

 Now this so-called beard is in fact the breathing appa- 

 ratus of the oyster, and has other functions besides 

 those of respiration, as we shall presently see. 



Now open the shell entirely, remove the convex 

 valve, taking care to cut through the thick muscular 

 attachment close to the shell, and with the point of a 

 knife Kffc up these beautifully delicate membranes. They 

 are seen to be double, like the two shells, and on 

 tracing them round they will prove to end in the 

 mouth, which is close to the hinge of the shell, and 

 can be recognised by a double pair of white and pointed 

 lips. For some unknown reason the oyster has no 

 throat, but the mouth opens at once into the stomach, 

 just as the outer door of a cottage opens into the 

 sitting-room instead of the passage. 



And if the curiosity of the investigator be not 

 quite satisfied, he can easily pursue his inquiries 

 further, and see what the oyster had for dinner, a most 



