Waterbury evening Democrat., 1888-04-11
WADING ON A GAY.
spEclMENS OF SEA LIFE SEEN AMONG
 THE BAHAMAS.

THE BAHAMAS.
 Masses of Coral Full of Tiny Crustacesns.
 Under the Shelves o& Rock-Among
 gOssa-
 One day at low tide went ashore of Hog Cay. Itwas, or is, called Hog Cay because there are no hogs on it, and for that matter there are dozens of cays called Hog Cay pos sibly for the same reason. Most of the sponge fishing vessels carry a black pig which roams on the forecastle deck. What this pig gets to eat is to me a mystery. There seems to be no surplus of food, no cold food over, cer- tainly, for tbe sponge hsherman's food is bread and water, and not over much of that. These pigs are very thin, and have an un- comfortable habit of gnawing at one's pants legs.
 At low tide the shores of rocky islet or cay in the Bahamas has ragged reef of rock uncovered and looking like mass of wind blown soap studs made on . large scale, sud- denly petrified, and then black or gray with mildew. It is honeycombed and pocketed with sharp, brittle, jagged points every where. On and in this reef are found many species of mollusks, generally occupy ing slight .depressions made by themselves; they withdraw into their shells, shut the door and placidly await the flow of the next tide Here are thousands of the little spiral bleed ing tooth shells. Below this rock is shelv- ing beach shallow sloping and on this waded in my rubber boots, collecting such things as attracted my attention. Masses of soft corals branched and interlaced, whitish with pink tips, served as cover for fish of many bright colors, little fellows not daring to go into the open.
 FULL OF LITE.
 Taking to the dry beach masses of this coral as great as could lift, I found it full of life: little tiny crustaceans-white,b black and red-minute, quick moving star fish, green and black; black spined sea eggs; long worms with double line of leg like points on the lower surface and leather tube, in which they carried themselves; funny little old mossback crabs, so hid by vegetable growth as to pass unnoticed if they would only keep still; e beautiful olive shell, with purple mouth, like a dainty lady in humble company. Here and there a whelk or two, nestled under little shelf, with its button like door shut tight. Larger and flatter corals of dull yellow found covered with parasitic life, such as tiny sponges, leather like, flat, some yellow with many a mouth, others brown and like miniature volcano, in handling which there is left in the skin spiculae so fine and needle like that they poison the hands, causing an itching and eruption that lasts for days; waving alg@, thread like sea plants of many a pluney form and many shade of brown; coralites white and brown, jointed, branching tufts. Under the rock shelves were bright colored anemones, siren like letting the shallow tide comb their long hair. A little deeper big crayflsh, brilliant in gold and black, with feelers twenty inches long, instead of claws, steal quickly away; big crabs, blue and gray or dark spotted red, hold up angry claws, then try to hide under my boots On shore the great round leaves of the red and green sea grape hide tine land.
 On the leeward side of the cay the ebb tide leaves bare white marly bar 1000 acres in area, full of the tracks of little lively she'll fish blowing along and feeding; naticas, white and blue; deep holes where the crabs hide; other holes from which issues @ long sack, translucent and filled with red spots. the eggs of some creature; little collar like rings, the egg cases of the niritas. A fringe of dead and brown gulf weed marks the line of the spent high tide on the shore, with here and there a dead shell or sponge A couple of hours wading, at each low tide, at the end of New Cay, is fruitful every day of new and
  ing and such pleasure is unalloyed.
 GARDEN OF THE SEA.
 Whoever has sailed in big steamship to Cuba, to the Bahamas, or through the South Atlantic, has seen after crossing the Gulf Stream, day after day, an intending process sion of great and little patches of a bright orange colored plant which floats placidly on the surface. Sometimes it is only single o,,tA at stems partly out of water; often there are patches of from many inches to many feet in area; or again great fields acres in extent; sometimes it is in streaks or bands, continu- ous or interrupted, few feet, or may be rods wide, extending from horizon to horizon. This is the orange colored garden of the sea, simple plant, without apparent root, leafing, Towering and fruiting as it floats, the Sara gossa sea weed, whose metropolis is in the horse attitudes.
 have often wanted to fish it up from the deck of a steamer, but never succeeded to any satisfaction until recently, when crossed on little sloop one of the abyssal deeps of ocean which reach in between the Bahama islands. could easily reach it with landing net as we sailed. It is plant of a soft orange color over, under and through. A multitude of minute animals, little coral like growths, wreath the stems in strings of pearls Crabs no bigger than a finger nail mailed in coats of flesh red or black, resent with upheld claw all intrusion; prawns and Holsters in miniature fip-fap their jointed tails in microscopic gladness; fishes in bright bands of color, half an inch long, find home here.
 In this the winged shells of many forms and amber hues, distant order of mollusks Pteropoda), living only in the open sea and on its surface, find food and shelter, a group of shells rare in any cabinet. The fronds of this plant are buoyed up by numerous blad- derlike nodules at intervals along each stem Two distinct pieces were observed, one of which was slightly greenish in the orange tone of color.-Frederick Stearns in Detroit Free Press.
 Americans Chivalrous Race. | The American men are c chivalrous race | They respect women; they are the noblest men in the world. There are, to be sure, American savages. One class who use the bowie knife, who drink like the hippopota- mus, play cards, fight duels, are wildly furi- ous, passionate, unsafe and desperate, there | is another class who pretend to despise fash ion and etiquette, who dress like fiends, wear l ~.,-,lo,,,aro off fr<,oly ,,l x,,l;t,