BOOK AND MRS, OYSTER 



At the death of his dear mother httle 

 WilHs went from his western farm home 

 to stay for a few years with his Aunt 

 Jennie in an eastern seaport town. 



One day she had oysters in the shell 

 for dinner. As his parents had wisely 

 tried to keep his eyes and ears keen in 

 regard to common things, he was full of 

 questions. 



His aunt told him that the next time 

 she bought live oysters she would give 

 him some to watch and study. Only a 

 few weeks later she was expecting com- 

 pany to dinner and had a chance to keep 

 her word. 



''Fill this with water," said she, giving 

 him a plain glass fruit dish, ''and put 

 your oyster in it." 



"But," said Willis, "oysters live in sea 

 water, which is salty." 



"Yes ; they do live in sea water. In 

 order to grow and thrive they must have 

 vegetable and mineral substances found 

 in sea water. But they can live in fresh 

 water. Oystermen make a practice of 

 moving them from their banks to spots 

 near the mouth of a river where the water 

 is not nearly so salty or even quite fresh. 

 Here they get washed out and freshened. 

 They look plumper and some of the 

 strong, salty taste being taken away, they 

 have a more delicate flavor. All the larg- 

 est oysters in the market are fattened in 

 that way." 



Willis did as directed. 



"Do you notice how the oyster is cov- 

 ered?" asked his aunt. 



"Yes, it has two shells which are joined 

 like a hinge at the smaller end." 



"Do you notice that thev are differ- 

 ent?" 



"One shell is larger and deeper near 

 the hinge. The outside of it is white and 

 pretty. The shelly matter is laid in rings, 

 some of which seem full, making me 

 think of a tucked and ruffled skirt. The 

 other shell is smaller, darker and nearlv 

 flat." 



"Ask Bridget if she has some small 

 crackers to give you one. Powder it and 



throw it on top of the water. If she 

 has none a spoonful of corn meal will 

 do for .food. Animals which are deprived 

 of natural ways of getting a living must 

 be supplied with suitable food." 



When he had done that she handed 

 him a pair of shells, in one of which lay 

 an oyster. "Here is another one which 

 I had opened for you. I am very busy 

 to-day. While the company is here you 

 can amuse yourself by watching what 

 happens. Examine the dead oyster and 

 find out what you can about it." 



Willis was delighted with his odd pet. 

 He watched the live creature for some 

 time. At first its two shells were tightly 

 closed. After being quiet for some time 

 it cautiously opened its shell a little way 

 as though it was peeping at him. He 

 was so pleased that he grabbed his hat 

 and ran to fetch his neighbor schoolmate, 

 Joseph. Once in a while a bit of cracker 

 would be drawn between the shells and, 

 in time, disappear. The two boys were 

 very much interested. 



"Let us look at the dead ovster, Wil- 

 lis." 



"All right." 



"Taking a toothpick in his hand he 

 tried to turn over the oyster in the shell. 

 He found that a thickened muscle near 

 the middle part was fastened to the half 

 shell. Tearing it loose he saw at this 

 place a dark, purplish spot just like one 

 on the other half shell. 



"I wonder what makes that hard spot ?'' 



"Oh, see, Joseph! Its body has two 

 sides. The side lying in the deeper 

 piece of shell is larger. Down the mid- 

 dle is a division and the edges come to- 

 gether something like the cover of a 

 book. Over all is a white covering with 

 such pretty frilled edges. See, I can roll 

 it back quite a little way." 



"That is so. How pretty it is. It has 

 no head. Does it eat ? I wonder if it has 

 a mouth." 



Willis searched carefully for an open- 

 ing. At last he found one near the 

 hino;c. 



53 



