The morning call., 1891-04-05
LIFE In TIE DEEP.
Curi0Sitias Of The Ocean Brought Up By
Divers,

Is there anything more beautiful than
worm? 1t all depends. II you speak OF
the worms of the sea, few of the most bril-
liantly colored flowers Of the earth can APP
prOach them in gorgeousness, says the
Washington Star. There is one such crea-
ture of the ocean that lives in tube buried
in the mud, and, when it does not wish to
appear in public it closes the tube at the top
with stopper and so retires from view.
When it feels safe. however, and is anxious
for food. it takes off the stopper and waves
anout in the water many long and exquis-
itely colored tentacles resembling passion
flower of rainbow tints.
Many kinds of worms there are in the sea
that dwell in long tubes or quills, the sub
stance of which is secreted from their bodies
for protective purposes. One sort always
keeps b0arders. At all events, in It's tube is
nearly always found one pair of live crabs.
Another species of sea worm builds fun
nel-sha ed she'll or tuOe, for the constTuc-
ton of which it selects the prettiest gravel
and stones it can find, so as to make Of the
surface sort of mosaic more artistic than
human being cOull devise. Other creatures
Of this same description cover their dwell
lngS with beautiful shell and fnraminifera,
while others still find homes in the interior
recesSes OF couch shells, so that upon taking
out a hermit crab from one OF these shells il
Is usual to find n worm of the species men
toned behind it.
An interesting sort Of sea worm repro
dueeS Its kind in a manner altogether aston
ishing. ANY one of the sections of which II
is composed seems likely at any time to de-
velop head and eyes, and this segment
cody detaches itself from the main body
and goes off by ITSELF male or female. as
the case may be: Sometimes single worm
will divide itself up into three OF four surh
iu1i Viiu1lS The fRma Ia Tins thrown
the world is supplied with n sac full Of eggs,
which, being duly inlpregnated by the male,
produce the whole worm that is destined
later to divide itself ND as described.
Her Maiesty's ship Challenger brought
up from the depths of the ocean certain sea
worms never heard of before, which had
branches like tree. One sea worm not IN
common along this coast has a prOboscis
equipped with powerful hooked teeth, with
which it seizes its prey, and having grasped
II, devours it by turning itself inside out
like glove finger.
Among the most interesting worms of the
ocean are the so-called ST a-centipedeS, which
are covered with readily detached bristles.
If you step upon one or grasp IL these DIS
ties stick into the skin and cling there so
that thew are removed with some difficulty
by seraping the surface with n keen-e1ged
knife These are found along the southern
coasts of this continent and on the shores OF
the West India Islands.
There are certain sea worms that board in
the tubes of other sea worms, and one thing
very funny noticed about them is that when
they are present the proper owners OF the
tnbe are always found to be darker in color
than ordinary. though whether this Is the
result of annoyance at having to take care
of such more or less welcome guests 1t has
been impossible thus far to ascertain.
The typical sea worm that lives IN tube
has both ends Of its dwelling, which is in
the share of hook, buried IN the mud,
communicating by openings with the water
above. For the sake of maintaining Its
health the water is drawn in at one end of
the tube and expelled through the other;
and when the animal desires to seek food il
rises to the former OF these two openings and
waves about in the water its many tentae es,
exhibiting most wildly all the colofs Ut The
rainbow. 1t bTeatheS, too, in the case OF
many species. by means IF "branchia.'
which are modified tentacleS filled with Its
blood, and inclOsPd each of them within so
thin a skin that the blood takes in Oxvg-n
from the water as do the gills of fish. 1t is
worth mentioning that if almost any sea
worm is cut in twosthe tail will produce a
head or the head tail, thus making two in
dividualS out of one.
There is a sea worm called the 'phyllo-
doeP," that when frightened eXcretes from
its pores jelly-like substance, so that when
you pick one up il seems positively TO be i'll
closed in a mass of Jelly. Sometimes =
worm Of another species finds It's home in q
branch of coral, and the coral builders n
struct their walls around the animal, so that
as the worm grows they actually build n
tube to enclose him, and so provide him
with a home. This tramp worm, "a he
might be called finds such accommodations
most agreeable, merely taking care 10 keep
both ends of the tube thus made for him
open, so that he may breathe. There is no
class of animals existing that has such
brilliant and beautiful coloring as the sea
worms, many of them with their brightly
tintrd tentacles and branchia, resembling
the most gorgeous blossoms of the field.
Vincent Schell, an army veteran of
Buffalo, n. Y, accuses his daughter of a
propriating his $500 pension money and