The Daily times. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1886-1889, 1888-07-25
TIE PI,: WORMS HABITS.
r.. Remarkable Ravagcs in Kidding TIM
bcr-An Importation.

III AZ
ing a foot below it, saw the stanchest
timbers wasted away until | could nave
spanned their circumference with my
hand The constant friction Of the waves
alone could not have done this. IL was
the wor. of that dread enemy OF whaii
owners and ship masters. the teredo IA
valis Now. | could account Tor the
sinking in Of the floor OF the docn Ill
MANY places. The worm would attack
nile and. with his numbcrless comrades
cat and eat away tine wood until was
absolutely honcvcombei. Ihe waves
would then complete the work. lhe
noint Of attack chosen bv thes" tivalvniar
nests. in q pile. Is from about fifteen
inches below up 10 high water mark.
This ceuerally breaks the timber at about
midway between the wharf and the sur
face OF the earth.
Imagine 4 stout pine trunk, Of liam
eter Of a foot and half completely
filled with long. toltuous channel vary
i'm, from onc-quarter 10 thrco-quarterS ol
an inch. and running from outer edge 70
outer cdgc. Now. as thin rs i TINS
sheet upon which write these lines. As
thin as the transparent division against
which the golden honey rests ~ the
wayen comb. 80 TIM are the walls bc-
tween each Of the fatal channels which
mark the passage and progress OF the
worm through the doomed timber As
singular as il may seem, thcy never
break through. tucy never disturb each
| other OF tresplss upon clcll DINER leIil
tory. There may be thoi3a"d OF them
in a single pile, but no instance has yet
| been found in which one ct these pas
| sageways iutorsccled another or heEched
upon another's right Of way. 1hey may
| all be boring at Once-son' mp, some
| down. some lateraiiy. some oht1uely
and they mar make thcir DIVISION walls
a. thin as it picases them. but there Is
never an infraction of ibis Law OF abso'
| h,te inviolabnitv of each individual $
RIGHT OF way. L viii easily lc apFre-
bended. therefore, how quickly a timber
thu, riddled wil be worn away by the
constant attrtion OF tho tides, until 1t
finally breaks. and brings with Il in lis
fall the beam above. of which &c was the
support. ,,.
4 study Of the history and habits Of
this singular worm will he i0dnd neither
undressing nor unploGtaJIe. it, hab-
itat was originally in the roulc cas-. blt
| boinc carried in tie iIml cIs ot vessels
into North american and EJropc"
water. it ias become the terror and
dread Of whar!mon and captains OF M
sheathod sailing craft along tia Atlantic
and Pacific COASTS AND I'm tle harOors Of
numbers Of Mediterranean cities. Ac-
cording to the classification of Llnrnus,
this biyalyc boloucs 10 the family # pho
ladid.c. and genus teredo, so called from
their habit Of destroying ship ca other
timber. The shell is equal waived, and
in form it is short. thicl and round and
widely omen in front and rear. This
shell IS situated at the inner end of a
tube. somewhat cylindrical in shape. and
either straight or crooked. as the case
NAV be: this tube being open at each
end in the full grown specimens. and
lined or coated with q white. chalEy
paste or substance, which Seems to be lis
digestive apparatus.
The weapon of the teredO Is not teeth.
as might he supposed. This singular
animal has still another pecuhalty, de-
pendent. however, upon the one last men
toned. for since its instrument Is it, foot,
so it feeds itself not from the mouth, bul
from the foot itself. The valves above
noted are simply APPENDICES OF the foot.
In fact. if a terelo should have his foot
amputated he would in a most vital sense
.losc his grip In the center Of the
circular opening Of the valves the foot ],
protruded. like the blade concealed in q
spring cane. and the entire arrangement
constitutes a boring machine Of powcl
inconceivablc III so small an obiel.i
! The strength o = --.---. d-nfnC becomes APP
parent when upon a closer examination
one notes the strong rubber like ridges Of
the valves. which can contract with great
force and the comparatively immense
size of the great abductor muscle WHICH
enables the teredo 20 use its sharp foot
with the ease Of an auger passing through
the soitest pine.
This worm attains often great length,
but it is usually from one foot to yard
long, its size depending on the length Of
time ic has been in the wood and ire
auently on the size Of the wood Itself. 1t
IS provided with two respiratory tubes,
each of which has 4 siphon attached 10
a calcareous, flattened. triangular plate
on the outside Of the body. L las two
heads-if such they can be called-each
attached 10 the extremity OF tube nluch
smaller than the main trunk, ana when
are each (the small tubes about SIX
inches long; or, in other words, the man
body splits into two small tubes at about
4 foot or six inches from where the mead
is in a teredo, and where the tai would
be in . snake. This worm Is owl
parious. and when the young are
born with smooth SHELF they
swim around by means OF vIbra-
tile ella: sometimes creeping with the
foot until old enough to begin work on
niece of wood 4 good, nice, new pile
hacing been selected, they fasten them
selves to the wood by means rf tho
, suction apparatus in their heads, strike
in with their foot and bore inwardly lin
Ii. only the head remains outside. 1heI