The Maryville times. (Maryville, Tenn.) 1884-1944, 1886-10-06
A CITY IN RUINS.

The Colony of Little Animals Which
Once Lived In Thousands of Cradles
Not So Harmless as They Seem.
Nothing that we find on the beach is
more of a wreck than the torn bit OF
seaweed that we preserve and spread
20 carefully and that is so beautiful;
but the wrecks l am telling about were
all the homes of living animals, and
among your seaweed-ifyou have any
Il have no doubt you can find at least
two or three genuine wrecks, not Of
one creatures home, but of whole cit
lies of little animals.
When you pick up what looks like a
bit of weed. but is rather stiff and
horny, keeping its shape as you handle
it. you may be sure it is no weed. If
it is shaped like a tiny shrub, an inch
or two high, it is one that is very COM
mon on our shores, the Bugula turrita.
ii you look closely at it, even with a
common magnifying glass or ''linen
glass" you will see that it is in little
Joints Well, at every one of these
FONTS is little cell, or room you may
call it. and when it was in the sea a
little creature lived in each one. 1t
could draw itself down into mere
lump in the bottom, or it could thrust
out daisy-shaped head and draw the
sea-vater into its mouth. rs
VI hat is strangest about them, all the
little fellows that lived in one of these
small shrubs were connected together
lin such way, through the hollow
stems, that they were like one
animal, and lived and died to-
gether. And, wonderful to say,
It is all one family, and grew
from one mere dot of a sea baby, which
swan around by means of the fringe
of hairs or ella, till it wished to settle,
when it became fixed on shell or a
weed, and began this great family of
Hundreds OF creatures
Sometimes you will find on broad
seaweed or shell fiat colony of
these little creatures, standing out like
the spokes of a wheel, and branching
jim every direction. This is the Crisid
sburned, and it had its tenant at every
Joint Nothing could be prettier than
this little white city when fairy-like
blossom opened at every joint.
One of the most curious of these
queer cities is called the leafy sea-mat.
1T looks like thick-leaved plant from
a half-inch to two or three inches
high, and of brownish color. Look
carefully at it, especially if you have 8
glass, and you will see that it is coy
cred with little cells shaped like tiny
slippers, or, as one writer calls them
cradles. They do look like cradles, the
more so as each one has it's living baby
m it.
Some ofthese big sea families grow ir
the shape of lovely feather from one
inch to three inches long; it is Ser
tularia, and l dare say you have one
among your seaweeds-nearly ever,
one has. 1t is yellowish in color. ant
stiff, and will not stick to the papel
like seaweed, but has to he gummed o.
otherwise fastened. The beautiful pinl
coralline that you gather in the rocl
pools or on shells was once the hom,
of thousands.
Little and harmless and weed-like a
they look, some of them are well pro
vided with weapons. The feather.
one | spoke of has been CAREFUL,
studied through a microscope, and j
is discovered that each tiny dot of
polyp (these little fellows are polyps
has lance, or dart, or whatever yol
may call it---a long. elastic thread
very strong, that usually lies coiled VI
in his cell, but which he can throw
with great force. " is armed wit
barbs. and il in some way poisons an
little creature it touches. So it ism
SO innocent bit of seaweed as it looks
1t is a true wreck, not of one, but Q
thousands-a ruined polyp city, in fact
or what the books call Polypidom.
Sometimes, among all these cities
you will find one little fellow that live
in his cunning shell house all alone
1t is bout the size of pins head
minute tube coiled up tightly and fast
ened to soaweed. The owner, whe
alive, was worm-like creature wit
All elegant fower-like head, and
cork-shaped door to keep out enemies
Its name was Spirorbis. Oiire thorn