﻿21 
  

  

  is 
  green, 
  imparting 
  its 
  own 
  green 
  color 
  to 
  the 
  fiuids 
  and 
  

  

  thus 
  to 
  the 
  tissues 
  of 
  such 
  oysters 
  as 
  may 
  be 
  so 
  situated 
  

  

  as 
  to 
  readily 
  feed 
  upon 
  it. 
  A 
  recent 
  writer"^ 
  gives 
  an 
  

  

  account 
  of 
  some 
  experiments 
  made 
  hy 
  M. 
  Puysegur 
  of 
  

  

  Sissable 
  in 
  artificially 
  pi'oducing 
  this 
  green 
  color, 
  from 
  

  

  which 
  I 
  quote 
  : 
  "In 
  each 
  plate, 
  [filled 
  with 
  water 
  charged 
  

  

  ' 
  with 
  green 
  diatoms,] 
  according 
  to 
  its 
  size, 
  we 
  put 
  three 
  

  

  ' 
  to 
  six 
  perfectly 
  white 
  oysters 
  which 
  had 
  never 
  been 
  in 
  

  

  ' 
  the 
  'clears' 
  and 
  the 
  shells 
  of 
  which 
  had 
  been 
  previoiisly 
  

  

  ' 
  washed 
  and 
  brushed 
  clean. 
  In 
  similar 
  plates 
  like 
  num- 
  

  

  'bers 
  of 
  the 
  same 
  oysters 
  were 
  laid 
  in 
  ordinary 
  sea- 
  

  

  ' 
  water. 
  Twenty-six 
  hours 
  after 
  the 
  commencement 
  of 
  

  

  ' 
  the 
  experiment 
  the 
  oysters 
  in 
  the 
  water 
  charged 
  with 
  

  

  ' 
  diatoms 
  had 
  all 
  acquired 
  a 
  marked 
  greenish 
  hue 
  ; 
  the 
  

  

  ' 
  other 
  oysters 
  remained 
  unaltered. 
  ^ 
  * 
  * 
  * 
  

  

  ' 
  After 
  the 
  oyster 
  had 
  turned 
  green, 
  it 
  was 
  laid 
  in 
  ordi- 
  

  

  ' 
  nary 
  sea-water 
  for 
  a 
  few 
  days, 
  when 
  tlie 
  greenness 
  dis- 
  

  

  ' 
  appeared 
  altogether. 
  It 
  reappeared 
  when 
  the 
  oyster 
  

  

  ' 
  was 
  replaced 
  in 
  fresh 
  water 
  containing 
  JVavicula 
  ostre- 
  

  

  ' 
  aria.''' 
  M. 
  Decaisne, 
  of 
  the 
  Jar 
  din 
  cits 
  FJ 
  antes, 
  Paris, 
  

  

  repeated 
  the 
  experiments 
  with 
  the 
  same 
  results. 
  

  

  Besides 
  the 
  diatoms, 
  the 
  spores 
  of 
  algae, 
  the 
  larvae 
  or 
  

   young 
  of 
  many 
  animals, 
  such 
  as 
  Sponges, 
  Bryozoa. 
  Hy- 
  

   droids, 
  AVorms, 
  Mollusks, 
  many 
  of 
  which 
  are 
  small 
  

   enough 
  to 
  be 
  taken 
  in 
  by 
  the 
  oyster, 
  though 
  their 
  bodies 
  

   in 
  most 
  cases 
  being 
  soft 
  and 
  without 
  a 
  skeleton, 
  it 
  is 
  

   impossible 
  to 
  find 
  any 
  traces, 
  either 
  in 
  the 
  stomach 
  or 
  

   intestine, 
  of 
  their 
  reTuains, 
  to 
  indicate 
  that 
  they 
  have 
  

   formed 
  a 
  part 
  of 
  the 
  bill 
  of 
  fare 
  of 
  the 
  aninial. 
  What, 
  

   however, 
  demonstrates 
  that 
  such 
  small 
  larval 
  organisms 
  

   do 
  help 
  to 
  feed 
  the 
  oyster, 
  is 
  the 
  fact 
  that, 
  at 
  the 
  heads 
  

   of 
  the 
  small 
  inlets 
  or 
  creeks 
  along 
  the 
  Chesapeake, 
  where 
  

   the 
  water 
  is 
  but 
  little 
  affected 
  by 
  the 
  tides 
  and 
  is 
  some- 
  

   what 
  Imickish 
  and 
  inclined 
  to 
  be 
  stagnant, 
  there 
  always 
  

   appears 
  to 
  be 
  a 
  relatively 
  greater 
  development 
  of 
  a 
  some- 
  

  

  *The 
  green 
  color 
  of 
  Oysters, 
  H. 
  M. 
  C. 
  In 
  Nature, 
  Vo\ 
  XXII, 
  549—50,1880. 
  Trans, 
  

   from 
  the 
  Revue 
  Maritime 
  et 
  Coloniale. 
  February, 
  iSgc. 
  

  

  