The Bossier banner. [volume] (Bellevue, Bossier Parish, La.) 1859-1952, 1881-10-06

'ySe.so, 'Vh Ucara. sess&s 81 &#F
i 1 have shown you how they a. ~.
and OF what they are made. and spun
sure you will confess that 4 : an
wonderful; but when tell va I VS.. sery
these humble little spinners hav = slat
to the aid of man, and have nro.s oo11e
and strengthened the work of so s0ssed
the greatest engineers the world s,. =
produced, and have done for tb S,x Is rs,
which all their skill and patience , sNs
Jailed to do, you will find It har,s :, aaQ
iieve. l know. And yet it is trne = - !,
will show You. Auc' as I
There is a town in Deyonsh;ra
land, called Bideford, and nss. 1ag.
| town. which is not far from H. sao
two rivers join-the Torridce an, and IVA sea4
There is is great bridge lust th ham'
twenty-four arches in length and nd :.
cost thousands upon thousands ~ Wy a,i1
lars, and years OF labor of many i NJ, WI
to build it. But after it was i;r; aisa:
the surveyor saw that it would MT ,t'I lass
lhe tide was SO rapid and stronr ~. lIs'
u Kept washing out the mortar f 49,
the arches, and sweeping ,awsv ta ~
heavy stones; and, work as rhsssa ac
they could, the bridge could moi 81 T. T.
Kept IN order. or SO as to be safslS.
travel over. s.... = '' ~ 70
AT last wise engineer, who had 4.
thought even the lowliest Of 3odss -, 49, -
lures too lowly for him to watch ~. "a
study. said he felt sure he coul1 s ~
the bridge from being swept avsv's y
he took men and boats, and hyonss N
hundreds OF thousands Of nussels--yss
insignificant little inussels-aad nl;, y;
them among the stones of the arcbs s1
The result proved the wisdom 81 ths
man who had watched their indusfrSs
They went to work and spun ths;,
threads all over the stones ana horsa
them together so firmly that the a.
and waves had no more power f. wsss
them away. 10
.lTo this day the town OF B;deto,s.
Keeps men and boats at work to renIaca
the little spinners as they die q, r' 81
torn away by heavy freshets; q ana ~
valuable does it deem these hnrhls
guardians of the bridge that 4 III
passed law by which any person a.
tears loose the mussels from the arches.
shall be transported which, as Won
know, is terrible punishment. s 81 !,
1t isnot only at Biddeford, either, thai
our little spinners of the sea have sefyeH
mankind in the same way, for JIM Franco.
the Cherbourg Breakwater is made d.
cure by the strong threads fspun 0veTs
them by the tons upon tons .of .mssssls
that q wise Government caused ID IA
placed among them. 10 "a SIS Islia
You can judge something of the nam
ner in which these threads hold by put.
ting a mussel in an aquarium. Vort
soon you will find it fast anchored "a
the sides OF the glass or stones. ani,l
then you will have to break the sfyou3e
threads, as the only way of .loosaninr
the spinner from his hold. w
There is kind of mussel IN he
Mediterranean Sea which manufactures
a silky thread in such large quantities
that the people Of Sicily used to n,aIs
it into gloves and stockings, which
brought extremely high prices, hot
only because of their beatlty< but al,
account of their strange origin. 81.
highly were they valued, in ficf, Mat.
10 the year 1854, Pope Benedict tho
Fifteenth was presented with d pair Of
stockings made of the silk threads spun
BY these humble workmen Of the sea,
and the gift was thought one worthy
of the exalted station Of the reeefvefHi
But, in their actual toil, or shandi-
work, as it were, our little spinner,
have not exhausted all their usefulness
N the cool winter weather. (but, nat ill.,
he warmer months) the sea-mussels
prm Q wholesome, palatable, food. and
n some places they are brought from
he parts OF the coast and placed
where they fatten more raDidly-at the
mouths of rivers emptying into the ses
-sotiat the cities; near by mar: be sups
lied with an abundance of fine. FRESH
,sssEbS OIL
There is yet another manufacture iii
gnlch the humble mussel excels. which,
lof iessreatutility. is far more beaulifaI
han the threads they spin. .a..1 iii
Even as far back as The times OF tho
nclent Romans the. riverssof Britain
Tere famous for the beautiful speari,s
ound in the mussefs that dwell III
hem. and we are told that the stlssi1lH
? possess these, gems was, one. of the
hief motives OF Cesar i expedition ID
ritain. IRA tiass rgt; FIR
Along the River Earn. branch o.
nc Tay, the gathering OF pearl-mussels
great industry. and many are the
antilles who are supported by Their
ale. g - 10 's''ss
Among the great Jewels of the Britt
ID crown is magnificent pearl, which
'as manufactured by mussci IN ths
liver Conway, during the reign Of King
'harles the Second.
Then, too, though the outer sides Or
pidermis OF the mussei Is brown and
omely. II it is stripped off, it is folmli
be so beautiful in its tints as to b.
sed for nlother-of pearl, and valuable
rnaments are made of it.. eses's
LIS it not wonderful how much there
to. tell, even about a poor little mus
81, that we carelessly tear loose fpQn1
$ home and cut up for fish bait .og5
ample beneath our feetp etis ~ a.
And is it not strange how oiteniwe
20 things with our eyes, and yet do
OF see them at all with our tidcf
'andlngsg IA s. 9Hi{ sfxE3 fala
There is SO much to learn in this
larvelous world OF ours, that We hard.
know where to begiseto study 4 n!
1 expect YOU thought you knew AZ
bout the little brown i1lusset. but Adit
Hdrcouyt. en- Golden Days.
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