The evening telegraph. [volume] (Philadelphia [Pa.]) 1864-1918, 1867-03-05

| common language, they are called "shell fish,"
with little pTopTTiety, however, as they aresnSt
from the fishes fsh difets from man. ,.a
The science which includes the study of
molusca is practically called malaeoiogy,
meaning the study OF soft animals. Coriciio-
iogy, a word in common use, is Objectionable,
as ft is applicable OulY to the shell or house in
which the animal lives; whereas . many OF the
life very well without the trouble OF house
building, "a.
Natnralists give TO the mollusca the second
place and rank in the animal kingdom.
In doing this, it is not intended to convey the
idea that the yertebrates, which are placed hrst,
are more perfect creatures than the radlates,
which are placed last. 1t has pleased the
Creator to represent and multiply life on the
earth under four grand forms or systems. The
highest types OF each plan OF creation has,
however, exhibited the highest possible perteC-
ton of constitution agreeable to that plan; and
the mollusca, then, are as absolutely perfect,
considering the adaptability OF their structure
and functions to their mode Of life, and have
their appointed share in the economy OF nature,
as well as the verteOrates.
The Classification of MOIlusks.
Comprehended in the great molluscan type of
life are five sub-types, or classes, designated as
such partly from the positions of the feet or
organs OF locomotion, as follows;-
l.. Cephdiopodd In which the feet or arms
enCiTCle the head.
ii. Gdsteropodd. In which the ventral por-
tOn of the body forms creeping disk or foot.
III. PterODOdd. So-called from wing-like ex-
panslons proceeding from the head and used Tor
swimming.
". BrdchiopOdd. These are characterized by
two labal processes, or arms, or c1tad, which
can be protTudcd or withdrawn at pleasure, and
are used for creating currents in the ne1ghOor-
hood Of the mouth, and thus secure food
Y. COnchaterQ. These are ordinary blValve
mollusca which have their shells applied one
on each side of the body.
Characteristics Of the Glasses.
The first three of these classes are enGephG-
lOuS, provided with distinct heads, and gene
rally with organs of locomotiOn. They are
provided also with a unlvalve shell, which is
comparatively small and rudimentary in most
of the cephdtopods, they being swift and power
full creatures, which need no protection OF this
character. With most of the gdSteropodS, the
shell forms a complete armor, into which the
animal can entirely withdraw upon the approach
OF danger. A difference of habit, colncident
with this structural dissimilarity, might be
readily imagined; for the cephotopods, chang
ing their location at pleasure and moving with
great celebrity, are predatory and mostly y00p-
hdgOus, or lesh-eateIs; while many OF the gas
hOp0dS are ptyt0phdguS, or Vegetaole'eaters
though provided with jaws for holding their
food and tongues armed with numerous spinous
processes which are used in trituration.
The last two classes of molluscs (BrdchiOpodS
and Conoh1erd) are acephalous, having no
head, and with but limited powers OF locomo-
tion when IL is present at all
For the most part the species are sedentary,
VI dlIdCuGu WlbuuuG llC dUlilGJ w IuduBG buSll
location. AS they are therefore more liable
to the predatory attacks of raiders, they are
provided with heavier armaments for defense.
The CephalOpOds.
remember that there were wide differences
existing between the classes of mollusCs.
you VIII tine ggante hHsa acephabI4nd b1Ss
eyes, and powerful arms, swift, strong, and
affectionate to the last degree embracing every
thing that comes within its reach, and loving
| 4hA lpoN kkn hnrrN of f1ncln o,,I
| romance; the fend that torments the pearl
diver of the Rast and swimmer of the West; the
| pirate who does not scruple to drag down ships
| and feed upon the luckless mariners who sail
| them. If you will compare this fierce caunibal
| with the soft mass Of quivering, jelly-hke flesh
| which lies within the open valve of an oyster,
| without head, or arm, or foot, and totally
incapable OF locomotion or Defense you may
gain some idea of the wide range of organiza-
| ton embraced in molluscan life.
He who has sailed in the Southern seas, or
| even in the Caribbean or eastern Atlantic, or
| Mediterranean, and beheid with wonder and
| awe the huge waves rolling in the darkness of
| night, crested with flame, or tossing as pillows
| OF fire, or the softer and more beautiful phos-
| phoresence which breaks under the prov of the
ship moving upon gentle sea, or flashes with
| every dip of the oar in some quiet harbor, will
! scarcely believe that these min ute winged mol
luscs hold affinity with the gaudy hued 6uLinij
! (CltTjnlS), which adorn like rich fruit the
foliage of the Philippine Island breeze, or the
! Achatenal of Africa "a reticulate) or the West
Indies "a faciata), or who would at first per-
! ceive the family relationship between these
| last and this terrible bore from whom
| Brunei took his idea of boring the Thames
| tunnel (Which is itself bore), and who "cuts
| up" in such way that more ship timber is de-
| stroYed by him than by tempest and shipwreck
| combined, and who has more than once threat
| ened Holland with an invasion more terrible
| than that which resulted IN the actual posses
| sion by the Dutch; or, with his fragile and
| dainty cousin, the Pholas, famous miner and
sapper that he Is, who, without visible tools and
| without nOise runs his drifts and galleries
! through ramparts of limestone and even piers
| OF granite, whose flesh is as soft as an oyster,
and whose shell may be crushed between the
thumb and finger.
| The Cephalopod, whose outstretched arms mea,
| sureeight feet across is truly gigantic compared
| with the HeliXpoTnatia, dozen or two of which
! make a delicious meal for the Italian or the
Oriental Or to compare land shells alone.
| We're you travelling in the dense forests of
Brazil, or climbing the Andes, you might choose
worse food than the freshly laid eggs of the
Buhnius Oblongus, and yet, if would pack the
egg Helix Minutissinia, shell common in the
extreme Northern States, it woHld require an
expert calculator to tell how many Thousand
would be required for the purpose.
The Octopus, or "Man-Sucker."
The lecturer here gave an account of the
! structure and habits of some of the molluscous
animals. Speaking of the octopi, he said:-A
careful observer has recently been watching
| the octopi in the seas that wash the coast OF
British Columbia and as these are the most
recent observations, l shall produce them here,
promising that the remarks apply to a compare
lively high northern latitude (4930), nearly
opposite Newfoundland, instead of tropical
seas, where marine life is developed ON much
grander scale. The observer Is an Englishman.
He says:-