Oxford eagle. (Oxford, Lafayette Co., Miss.) 1876-current, 1890-03-27

49, nv 1888
prise any elaborate mechanism such as
that with which those who rave studied
human physiology in ever so cursory a
manner are familiar. but is simply a re-
cess in the animals body which is pro-
vided with \ mouth capable OF being
opened and shut at the pleasure Of its
owner. Il Is hard to conceive
a more ~rudimentary arrangement
for purposes Of breathing. No ap
paratus for the inhaling Of pure air
and the expulsion Of that loaded with
carbolic acid is connected with it. IL is
merely a hole with which the creatures
veins are connected. and into which he
allows a certain quantity of air to enter,
a. the need for il suggests itself 70 him.
When the air has. in this primitive
fashion. found its WY into the interior
economy Of our snail. he keeps il there
until the oxygen. with which il is
charged. has been exhausted By his vital
progresses, the carbcnic-acid-laden resi-
due Is allowed to escape By a reopening
Of the mouth Of the hole in his side. and
is replaced by more pure air, which flows
IN through the gap Practically speak
ing. the snail's breathing is accom-
Plished in precisely the same manner as
a o is aired By the occasional open
ing OF one Of its windows. We may sup
pose a number of human beings to be
congregsted in 4 small room. in the
same n as the snaiI's veins are
collected about his brcathing-hole. Az
ter a certain time they render foul the
air that the room contains and TO pro-
vide them with a fresh supply. at the
same time allowing the Initiated stock to
escape, a window Is opened. with the re-
suit that the bad air escapes through il.
and is replaced By fresh air from out
side As Don as the atmosphere of the
o i again in a satisfactory condition.
We mas imagine the window to be closed
until 1t Is deemed necessary to open is
once more. The snaii's breathing Is
managed in a similar TANNER TO this.
Nothing more clearly indicates the low
Development Of the t than this
documentary method of keeping his
frame supplied with the oxygen which
Is Indispensable to all living things
The mouth Of the snail Is armed with
- AA@@HA - AAAANMNs N AAt
shape Of a remarkable saw-Iike tongue.
Probably you have. at some time or an
other, noticed how cleanly cut are the
Edges OF a leaf upon which a snail has
been RECALLING himself IL Is difficult to
imagine how such 4 soft and fiabby-
looking animal can have made such clean
tncIslOus. but with an examination OF
the cutting instrument concealed in his
mouth. wonder on this score vanisheS
IL resembles a long, narrow ribbon. coil
ed in such a manner hat only a small
portion of it i called into use at once.
Tricky distributed over the entire sur
face OF this ribbon are an immense
number OF excessively SharpIittIe teeth.
designed in a manner which admirably
7d1ptS them TO the purpose for which
they are Intended The quantity of
these teeth i incredible-Oue species.
for instance, has been i~adispHtably prov
ed 10 possess as many as thirty thousand
OF them The reason for their DISPOSE
tiou on 4 coilei. ribbon-Iike surface lies
IN the fact By Use they become worn
away A. this happens, the ribbon i
uucoilsd- and the teeth which before
were wrapped up in it. at the back of
the snatIS mouth, come forward to take
the place Of those which have served
their turn The upper part of the mouth
consists OF 4 horny surface. againS,
which the sh~arp-toothed tongu works
A leaf which i 20 be operated upon i
caught between the tNo and subjected
20 a regular die-like rasping on the part
OF h tongue. 80 effective an inssru-
ment does this form that the tough
leaves Of the lily may often be found to
bs entirely rasped of by it
The snail energies from a small erv
Nhich was buried in the ground by his
mother. and from the very first shifts
for himself. quite ignorant of 4 parents
EatchfEl are His she'll in these eariy
days i not the rOomy concern in com
parison 20 the size Of his body that it af-
terNards becomes. but is little more
than a Aim, hardly strong enough 20 az
ford any protection at all However. as
he increases in size il grows both in
thickness and capacity. until it is final
u perfected when he il about eighteen
months old. By the addition of the outer
rim which Proclaims 20 the world the
fact that be has left the DAYS of child
hood and immaturity behind Spring is
the season which sees the snail emerge
from he's egg. He attains TO about half
his full size before winter compeIs him
20 retire from active life for awhile. ac-
couplishIng almost the whole of his
growth during the spring and autumn.
The heat OF summer seems in some mvs
terious way to initiate against his de-
velcpmenL
>nails always pass the winter in a
state Of Information. At the approach
OF the cold weather they scoop holes in
the ground. which are carefully lined
with dead leaves cemented to the sides
with slime In this snug retreat the
creature ~ensconeeS himself. and. not
content with the protection from the in
element weather thus Afforded. closes
the mouth Of his she'll with a diaphragm
composed of slime. which gradually
hardens This diaphragm is no, quite
imPervious. for it contains a minute
PerforatiOn, through which sufficient air
enters TO keep the vital mechanism of
the prisoner just moving. The snail is
not content with enc protecting plate of
this kind, but gradually ~withdraxs into
the deepest recesses of his she'll, form
ing fresh diaPhragms as ne recedeS The
layers Of air enclosed between each pair
OF plates act as the most effective bar
rier 10 the entrance Of cold The hiber-
nation of the snail is almost death. He
scarcely breathes. and the hearts action
IS nearly in allegiance. In the early DAYS
OF spring the sleeper awakes, and pro