Eastern times. [volume] (Bath, Me.) 1846-1857, 1853-12-29
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Inhabitants of the Sea.

The Traveller gives the following interes-
ting report of a lecture on aquatic life, re-
Gently delivered before the Lowell Institute
in Bcston, by DIR. A. A. Gould.
The lecturer first showed that vegetable
matter was Termed before animal, and marine
life before terrestial. He then proceeded to
describe the living things to be found in water.
All animals use air, and even the fishes have
it, but always naked with water in the shape
of bubbles and PARTICLES, confined by the action
of storms, waves and ripples in a watery case
and carried down. For this reason fishes have
very delicate lungs, with broad surfaces, which
collect these particles of air. These gills are
of different characters, being in some internal,
IN others external, being combs, rows of hairs,
feathers, &C., according to the different spe-
cies of marine animals Those which are
stationary generally have paddles, to keep a
fresh supply of wafer flowing by them by the
agitation of their tanning or padding.
Aquatic animals might live as we'll in air,
were it not that their delicate lungs shrink for
want ofmoisture and fail in their Office. There
are animals which live in the water which are
not strictly aquatic, such as the whale, which
draws in air through hole in his head
into great reservoir within and then going
down consumes this air so gradually that it is
often an hour or more before he comes up for
fresh supply; such as surface water beetles,
seen often moving on ponds in circles, which
when frightened, sink to the bottom, carrying
with them bag of air; or the water spider,
which beneath broad leaf at the bottom OF
the pond constructs hollow web, and then
carrying down air, after several trips fills his
reservoir of web-work and has little atmos-
phere of his own where he can dwell unmoles-
ted when not absent from home. N
AS a general thing, life in the sea is a scene
of rapine, the larger living on the smaller, and
some are even provided with pavements OF
teeth in their mouths, with which TO crack up
shell fish. There is, too, every conceivable
mode Of progression; though most of them
swim, there are others who extend long,
thin arm, and attaching it to some object, draw
themselves along; others glide over the rocks
by polling themselves along like raftsmen; and
yet others move by ejecting powerful jet Of
water. In the true swimmer, best adapted for
swlitness, the whole propusive power is in the
tan, the body is shaped SO as to impede pro-
gress as little as possible, the back and side
ms acting as balances and keels. The spe-
cine gravity of aquatic animals is about that
OF water. The different species are as posi-
lively confined to certain areas as are terrestrial
animals some live at certain dentb others
in certain temperature, or in peculiar kind
of water, fresh, salt, bracksh, or in the regions
of certain submarine plants SO that cold or
warm currents, the mouths of great rivers.
submarine mountains, &C., become partial
boundaries Beyond the depth Of mile there
is no life, vegetation ceases, the want of vege-
able food keep back the smaller fishes, and the
larger ones stay where live the small fishes
which are their prey.
There is a great difference in size in marine
animals whales are often 100 feet long, and
weigh ID to 20 tons; drop of water COM
pressed between two pieces of glass and ex-
amined with microscope, will be seen to con-
tain myriads Of animals !, 50 small that even in
such contracted medium they move with the
greatest freedom.
These little infusoria are very productive
and very tenacious oflife Some, having been
kept dry for year, have revived on being re-