﻿n 
  

  

  merable 
  cilia 
  whicli 
  cover 
  tlie 
  latter 
  and 
  tlie 
  palps. 
  The 
  

   oviducts 
  open 
  directly 
  into 
  the 
  upper 
  gill 
  cavity, 
  from 
  

   whence 
  the 
  ego'S 
  or 
  sperm 
  which 
  have 
  been 
  discharged 
  

   thereinto 
  are 
  at 
  once 
  carried 
  out 
  into 
  the 
  water 
  immedi- 
  

   ately 
  surrounding 
  the 
  animal 
  in 
  the 
  open 
  sea. 
  From 
  

   the 
  fact 
  that 
  the 
  eggs 
  are 
  heavier 
  than 
  watei-, 
  although 
  

   each 
  female 
  oyster 
  matures 
  many 
  millions, 
  it 
  is 
  easy 
  to 
  

   understand 
  why 
  it 
  is 
  that 
  but 
  comparatively 
  few, 
  prob- 
  

   ably 
  only 
  a 
  fraction 
  of 
  one 
  ])er 
  centum 
  of 
  all 
  that 
  are 
  

   laid, 
  ever 
  develope 
  or 
  tix 
  themselves 
  even 
  under 
  favor- 
  

   able 
  circumstances, 
  since 
  much 
  the 
  largest 
  portion 
  of 
  

   them 
  are 
  never 
  impregnated, 
  while 
  of 
  those 
  which 
  are, 
  

   but 
  few 
  ever 
  find 
  positions 
  favorable 
  to 
  their 
  growth 
  

   under 
  natural 
  conditions. 
  

  

  H<»W 
  AN 
  OYSTKFJ 
  TAKES 
  ON 
  FLESH. 
  

  

  Amongst 
  oystermen 
  the 
  business 
  of 
  ''fattening"' 
  or 
  

   feeding 
  the 
  oyster 
  is 
  one 
  of 
  the 
  most 
  important 
  from 
  the 
  

   fact 
  that 
  npon 
  the 
  condition 
  of 
  the 
  marketable 
  pri^duct 
  

   largely 
  depends 
  its 
  value. 
  Fatness 
  in 
  the 
  oyster 
  is 
  a 
  

   condition 
  wholly 
  different 
  in 
  nature 
  from 
  the 
  state 
  known 
  

   under 
  that 
  name 
  in 
  stall-fed 
  domestic 
  animals: 
  nor 
  has 
  

   it 
  anything 
  to 
  do 
  with 
  the 
  condition 
  of 
  the 
  reproductive 
  

   organ, 
  as 
  Prof. 
  Brooks* 
  seems 
  to 
  suppose, 
  for 
  oysters 
  are 
  

   mainly 
  taken 
  from 
  their 
  l)eds 
  at 
  a 
  season 
  when 
  that 
  

   organ 
  is 
  in 
  an 
  inactive 
  condition 
  and 
  appears 
  shrunken 
  

   and 
  wasted 
  away, 
  as 
  it 
  truly 
  is. 
  The 
  word 
  "fat" 
  as 
  

   applied 
  to 
  indicate 
  the 
  condition 
  of 
  the 
  oystei- 
  when 
  in 
  

   flesh, 
  is 
  a 
  misnomer, 
  since 
  it 
  is 
  not 
  fat 
  at 
  all 
  which 
  is 
  the 
  

   immediate 
  cause 
  of 
  the 
  condition 
  of 
  plumpness, 
  which 
  

   betokens 
  a 
  fitness 
  for 
  mai'ker, 
  but 
  a 
  very 
  extensive 
  de- 
  

   posit 
  of 
  protoplasmic 
  material 
  which 
  has 
  been 
  mainly 
  

   laid 
  down 
  in 
  the 
  substance 
  of 
  the 
  mantle. 
  It 
  is 
  not 
  de- 
  

   nied 
  that 
  there 
  are 
  oil 
  gloV)ules 
  to 
  be 
  found 
  in 
  this 
  de- 
  

   posit, 
  but 
  it 
  is 
  denied 
  that 
  the 
  term 
  "fat" 
  applies 
  as 
  

  

  ♦Development 
  of 
  the 
  Americajn 
  Oyster, 
  p. 
  lo. 
  

  

  N. 
  B. 
  M..bius 
  seems 
  to 
  have 
  clearly 
  apprehended 
  the 
  true 
  nature 
  of 
  the 
  so-calied 
  fattening 
  

   process. 
  

  

  