THE OYSTER. 13 



and palatable, especially adapted for living in the 

 soft mud of bays and estuaries, and for gathering up 

 the microscopic inhabitants and turning them into 

 food for man. 



The fitness of the oyster for this peculiar work for 

 bringing back to us the mineral wealth which the rivers 

 steal from our hillsides and meadows is so complete 

 and admirable, so marvellous and instructive, that it 

 cannot be comprehended in its complete significance, 

 without a thorough knowledge of the anatomy and 

 embryology of the oyster. 



This book is not a scientific treatise ; its purpose is 

 practical, and it will aim at the treatment of its sub- 

 ject in its relations to practical ends ; but we cannot 

 fully appreciate the great possibilities of our bay 

 without something more than the vague and erro- 

 neous notions regarding the nature of the oyster which 

 are generally current. 



The inestimable value of our inheritance in the 

 black mud of the bay has been pointed out, and it 

 now remains to show that the oyster is an animal 

 which has been especially evolved for life in this mud, 

 and that through its aid we may make our inheritance 

 available. A thorough knowledge of the oyster will 

 teach much more than this. It will show the capacity 

 of the oyster for cultivation, and it will also show why 

 its cultivation is necessary, and why our resources 

 can never be fully developed by oysters in a state of 

 nature. We have never enjoyed the hundredth part 

 of our advantage, nor can we ever do so if we continue 



