The Mussel which makes such long anchor-threads might be called "the
silkworm of the sea."
If the Mussel is such a stay-at-home, how does he find his food? The
answer is, that the food comes to him, brought by the ever-moving water.
There are countless specks floating in the sea, mostly specks of
vegetable stuff. These settle on the floor of the sea, just as dust
settles on our house-floors; and the waves wash this "sea-dust" hither
and thither. The Mussel or Oyster, with shells gaping wide open, is
bound to get some of this food with the water which enters the shells.
The Oyster has no "foot," and is fixed in one place nearly all its life.
It is an interesting animal; and one of such value as food, that
hundreds of thousands of Oysters are reared in special "beds," and sent
to the market at the proper season. Our British Oysters were famous even
in the time of the Romans; they were carefully packed and sent to Rome,
and, at the Roman feasts, surprising quantities of them were eaten.
Many sea-animals have wonderfully large families, but the Oyster, with
its millions and millions of eggs, beats most of them.
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