Watertown republican. [volume] (Watertown, Wis.) 1860-1906, 1886-09-01
THE EYE-STONE.
a Curious Little Bone That Does Useful
work, and Acts as IL 1t Were Alive.

A Curious Little Bone That Does Useful
Work, and Acts as IL 1t Were Alive.
From the New York Sun
Yes, we keep eye-stones," said an
uptown druggist, "but we don't have
call for one once in five years. Yet
there must be quite a demand for
them, for wholesale dealers purchase
all that are brought them by sailors
who make business of collecting
them on their voyages. Did you ever
see an eye-stone?"
"NO." said the reporter. "But they
are found in the stomachs of crayfish.
[ believe"
"Then your belief is about as far
wrong as it could be-" said the drug
gist, as he took q small bottle from g.
drawer. It was half full of what
seemed to be very small round, fiat
pieces of bone. Employing a few of the
pieces on the counter, he picked one
up and handed it to the reporter to
examine. There was nothing notable
about the little bone except that one
side was composed of numerous con-
centric grooves.
"That Is an eye-stOne," said the
druggist, pouring some liquid out of g.
bottle on to q smooth plate and d.
luting it with water. "And this is a
weak solution oil lime juice"
The druggist took one of the eve
stones and put it into the solution.
Presently the stone began to move as
II 1t were alive. 1t made it's way slow
ly about in different directions in the
liquid in mysterious manner.
"That strange movement of the eye
stone when placed In weak solution
OF lime juice or vinegar has given rise
among the ignorant and SUP erstitious
people to the notion that it has life,
and that it loves vinegar and loves to
swim in it, above all things. But there
is no more life in an eye-stone than
there is in a paving stone. 1t is COM
posed of calcareous material, and when
placed in the solution named is made
to move about by carbonic acid gas,
which is evolved by the contact with
the liquid acid. These little stones
and all genuine eye-stones were the
front doors to the shells of a little
molluscous animal that lives along
the Venezuela and other South Ameri-
can coasts. The shell is univalve.
This calcareous formation is on the tip
end of this little animal, and when he
draws himself into his shell to escape
danger or go to sleep, the end, of
course, is the last part of him that is
drawn into the cavity or mouth of the
shell, where it fits SO closely and is so
hard that it affords perfect protection
to the animal against enemies from
without. The native inhabitants col
lect the eye-stones in large quantities,
and regard them with great ave.
Sailors engaged on the fruit trading
vessels that visit these regions obtain
the stones and fetch them to New
York for sale to wholesale druggists.
"There are two little bones found in
the head of the crayish, just back of
and beneath the eyes, which resemble
the eye-stone, except they are smooth
all over. These are called eye-stones,
and are used as such in Ohio and 9TH
or Western states, but they have none
of the virtues Of the real eye-stone
The proper name for the stone found
in the crayfish is crab stones. In Po-
land and parts of Russia quite trade
is done In collecting crab stones. The
crayiish are buried in deep pits and
left there until they rot. The refuse is
then washed and the stones are picked
out. They are used in many parts of
Europe as a corrective of the stom-
ach.
"There is nothing better to remove
foreign substances from the eye than
one of these South American eye
stones. Before using them many peo-
pie think it necessary to put them in
vinegar to give them life, but it is not
necessary. The stone is inserted at
the corner of the eye, with the grooved
side next to the lid. The pressure Of
the eyeball forces it to move about in
the eye, and the grooves collect the
foreign matter and retain it. After
making thorough circuit of the eye
the stone will come out at the corner
next the nose. No inconvenience is
caused by it's presence in the eye."