Wichita eagle., 1889-07-05
CURlOSlTlES OF NATURE.
An Interestin: Lecture on the Lowe
Forms of Animal Life.

An Interesting Lecture on the Lower
Forms of Animal Life.
DR.. ". L johnson lectured in the hall Of
Cooper Medical college, San Francisco, tax
ing for his theme, The Lower Forms OF
Animal Life" he treated his subject in a
popular manner. With illusions selected
from classical authors, not wholly devoid Of
humor, he commenced the lecture by assert
ing that oysters, although having no head,
were capable Of being educated
II the shell Of the adult be examined, the
overlapping shoots viii be found to represent
the years growth, and thus the logic Of ma
ture Is illustrated The rings on the bole Of
a tree are counted to learn its age, and q
jockey fixes the age Of horse by its teeth.
The lower forms Of animal life have as
keen al appreciation Of the forces of nature
as man.
The pholades may be cited in illustration
I Their teeth resemble in some measure rasp
or file, and form q good weapon in boring
and perforating the rocks Bruner, the great
engineer, gained valuable information from
watching the habits Of the ship worm, and
much beneht has resulted to man from closely
watching the habits of the lower animal
world
The wheIk is one of tha class possessing a
head 1t possesses boring instrument cal
culated TO fill tbs heart Of an engineer with
envy. On the sea beach you may find shells
perforated with holes, a certain sign they
have surrendered their lives to one Of this
family.
In the Linqua ribbons the teeth are Of the
most extraordinary kind and number-it has
been estimated 2s, 600 The snail, which pos
sesses & stomach, liver and intestines, marks
a decided progression The Roman, or edible
snail. in addition TO being an article OF food,
was regarded as being certain cure for con-
sumption In England il il general belief
that the flavor Of the Southdown mutton is
owing to the sheep feeding on this snail The
removal Of the head causes Ettleand but tenn
porary Inconvenience, as it is speedily repro
duced-
The startish in its form gives little idea re-
garding its powers Of looomotion- Under
each ray may be found red spot, containing
crystal lenses helpful in finding food Pro
fessor Forbes states that ouce while examin-
ing a starash the eye at the end of the ten
tacle opened and shut as Il actuated by rea-
soning power.
There are many varieties, many Of which
are on exhibition in the state museum In this
not so perfect as in the starfsh- Five teeth,
strong and symmetrical, work sad havoc, de-
spite the fact that they live on vegetarian
diet.
The crab in its early stages resembles the
shrimp; but after losing its coat several
times, its back becomes bread, and il attains
the ve1 known form Of the crab Creeping
into the darkest places It can find, the female
with difficulty and pain loses her she'll. Many
varieties possess yer! curious characteristics.
The rubber crab Ct tbs MaQritius, the land
crab Of the West Indies and the frog crab Of
India are only q few Of the peculiar varieties.
The oyster crab is considered g choice morsel
IN the east, and IS said 10 have been q favorise
delicacy with George Washington
The hermit crab, not being provided By
nature with coat Of mail, seeks refuge IN
the cast of wheIk shells. Being Of a highly
combstive nature, their fights, while perhaps
not according to QueensberTy rules, arc car
tainly TO finish
The Jelly fish ranges IN size from the diuen-
sions OF a coffee bean 70 e size IS large IS an
umbrella, with rentacles 100 feet long. 4
Jelly fish that has had Tire eye specks removed
makes no effort 20 seek the Light \ repon-
sive stimulus is distinctly manifested, and In
teligent action appears to denote = nervous
system
Every animal organism is made I'D Of cells
The nerves, gansha and brain q higher Efs
forms find their equivalents n the cells q TIE
lower forms Of animal Efe--Alta California