bulk of our shells, and they're a good deal more
natural than the real ones. They're made of lime.'

"'All alike?'

"'Not in the least. You see, we have some thousands of moulds, every one
differing slightly from the rest. There's a special department for
hingeing the two shells together. We had some trouble to find a
substance for the hinge; but at last one of our chemists hit on a way of
subjecting old hide-scraps to a peculiar process, and that did the
thing. The mother-of-pearl is made of a sort of soft glass, somewhat
after the appearance of Venetian glass, and put on the shell hot.
Lastly, the oyster is attached to the shells by its cartilage; a little
liquor is put in, and the shells are closed up.'

"'But surely people must observe that they are not alive?' we said. 'For
instance, they can't open their shells!'

"'That's just where you're astray,' replied the General. 'Owing to the
mechanical action of salt upon the composition of the cartilage, the
oyster opens when placed in salt water. Iron, however, exercises an
electro-magnetic influence upon the composition forming the body of the
bivalve, causing a sudden contraction--so that, on a knife being
introduced into the shell, the latter closes in the most natural way. We
manufacture pearls on the premises, and advertise that one oyster in
every gross taken from our beds contains a pearl of more or less value;
and there's a greater demand for our oysters than for any others in the
world. Our oyster beds are way down along the coast, about ten miles
off; and are inspected by thousands yearly. Taste this egg.'

[Illustration: The Pearl.]

"He took up a fine specimen of a new-laid egg, and proceeded to break it
into a glass. It was a delightful egg. 'That's our latest pattern of
egg,' explained the General, 'You perceive that it has three lines
around it, where the substance of the shell is weaker than elsewhere;
the lines near each end enable a person about to consume the egg in a
boiled state to easily cut off the top or bottom with a knife, or run
his nail around it; while the line about the middle greatly assists
cooks in breaking it into a basin. There is also a thin spot at either
end, to facilitate sucking. These eggs are always new-laid; we send tons
to Europe, particularly to Great Britain, where ours are the only fresh
eggs they ever get.'

[Illustration: The London Egg]

"'But you must find some difficulty in making an egg?'

"'Just as easy as