The Abbeville press and banner. [volume] (Abbeville, S.C.) 1869-1924, 1890-09-17
SHELL FREAKS.
CONCHOLOGlCAL CURIOSITIES
IN THE NATIONAL MUSEUM.
Queerest Of Snails-The Truth Abou,
the Chambered Nautilus-Thc
Biggest Shell in the World
Giant CLANS,


Giant CLAIMS,
The most astonishing curiosity that has
reacb,d the National Museum at Wash
ingtoa for many q long day was sent
hither recently by a Frenchman named
Caillaud, who has devoted his life to the
study of shells. There is in France a
creature called the "vine snail, " which
inhabits the vineyards and grows to about
the diameter of a silver half dollar, its
she'll resembling in all material respects
that of certain very common water srails.
Of course. however. water snails are OF
infinite variety, and certain sort OF
water snail most common of all bears no
particular resemblance, so far as shape is
concerned, to the vine snail mentioned.
But NJ. Caillaud, being of an inquiring
mind, took number of vine snails and
proceeded to denude them of their shells,
taking the utmost care not to injurc the
animals. The latter he inserted into
empty shells of the common water snails
spoken of, accommodating the hinder
parts of the land smails as we'll as possible
to the convolutions of the new dwellings
they were intended to occupy.
It is not surprising that a majority OF
the vine snails thus treated should have
died. Their new shells did not fit them
at all, being of spiral shape, instead OF
nearly round, and this enforced moving
must have come very hard with them.
However, few, being wrapped in damp
moss and deposited in q moist cellar, not
only survived, but grew and thrived
healthily. As they grew they must
needs make their shells larger, and this
they did by adding on to the strange
shells they occupied deposits of their own
proper shell matter. For obvious reasons
it did not suit them to follow out the
plan of their adopted tene-
ments-they preferred to make additions
to their dwellings after the architectural
pattern recommended By their ancestors.
Hence was accomplished the construc-
ton of a shell-a perfect specimen of it
is now deposited in the National Museum
exhibits a structural combina-
ton of the land snail shell and the water
snail shell. One-half of the shell, be-
ginning at the peak, is after the water
snail pattern and the remaining half after
that of the land snail, the latter mate
rial simply continuing the former as one
kind of stone might unite with another
stratum. Not only is the material ard
coloring of the land snail part different
in those respects from the water snail
part, but the structure of the addition
Immediately takes the new vine snail
form. Thus by artifce has been produced
the most remarkable freak of natural his
tory, in its way, so fur known to the
world.
Among other interesting snails in the
National Museums collection is one go
that poor and broken speci-
men of the same kind was sold the other
day at auction for $500. It's distirc-
tive peculiarity is long slit in the she'll
material which accommodated the gills
of the animal. Prototypes of this crea-
ture were plentiful among the earliest liv-
ing forms found among the remains Of
a geological epoch perhaps fifty million
years old. At present, however, there
are so few such in existence that only
three or four are known to collectors.
The Smithsonian Institution has plenty
of specimens of the snail which Roman
courmets used to eat and sometimes train
for races, just as the Chinese nowadays
employ for racing purposes tortoises and
cockroaches. One of the most interest
ing shells in the Smithsonian collection
is the far-famed chambcred nautilus, if
only for the reason that so many untrue
stories have been circulated regarding it.
For some reason not altogether under
stood poets and others have confused
it with the argonaut of the eastern seas
and have told how it rises to the surface
and goes sailing for fun in calm weather.
The argonaut does float upon the surface
of the sea in its boat-like and papery shell,
padding itself along with little tentacles
extended over the side of its craft, but
the chambered nautilus is an altogether
different concern and has no such powers
of navigation.
The chambered nautilus resembles out
wardly a big snail she'll coiled. AS it
grows the animal slides out of the COM
partment it has occupied for q season and
builds wall of pearl behind it. Each
spring, when moving time comes, it
changes its room in this way, each time
building the pearly wall behind it, until
the entire interior of full grown shell
is composed of series of compartments,
the animal itself inhabiting only the out
ermost one close to the mouth or opening
of the shell. The shell, when the outer
parts are removed, exhibits the most
beautiful structural arrangement lmagin-
able, of chambers of pure pearl, such as
any diminutive mermaid princess might
be proud to live in. AS for the empty
chambers, they arc connected together
by pneumatic tube Of pearl by which
the animal can exhaust and supply air, so
as to either descend to the bottom of the
ocean or rise from the depths toward the
surface. Such are the facts regarding
the storied nautilus.
AS for the argonaut it is the only shell
fish in existence that has no attachment
to its she'll. The female is the one that
is found sailing; the male has no shell at
all. Such specimens Of the chambered
nautilus as are secured are almost all
caught in the Indian Ocean with baited
traps.
Ore of the biggest shells in the world
is the Wuueen conch.n which is largely