River Falls journal. [volume] (River Falls, Pierce County, Wis.) 1872-2019, 1891-11-26
LEE IN GUILE WEED.
Ali Sorts of ourIou. Animals That Journey

All Sorts of Curious Animals That Journey
With the Gulf Streams Current.
1t is surprising what curious creatures
live in gulf weed Not the least extra
ordinary of these inhabitants of the
floating alge which are torne on the
current of the Gulf stream is little
fish that makes its nest in the weeds.
For its own protection from enemies.
IL is made so like the weeds themselves
being orange-colored with white spots.
that one can not detect the scalv ami
NAL without actually taking a handful
of the vegetable stuff in which It seeks
shelter and scrutinizing it. The fish
builds its nest by binding together
lunches of the gulf weed with long,
sticky, gelatinous strings. Its eggs are
not laid in cavity. but are distributed
through the mass. Its very fms are
finger-shaped. counterfeiting the form
of the weed-fronds. They are moro
like hands than fms and are actually
employed for walking through the sea-
weed. rather than for swimming The
fish utilities them also in putting TO
gether its nests.
The great gulf current in its course
northward along the Atlantic coast and
around the great circuit that forms
with its eddy the famous Sargasso Sea
of marine grasses, carries along with it
an endless stream of life in connection
with the gulf weed which floats upon it
in "windrows" The weeds of varied
kinds, bring with them from the tropics
creatures multifarious, conveyed by the
mighty river OF warm water through
the midst of the colder ocean. Most of
them die when the cooler latitudes are
reached. and thus it happens that the
Larvae of many forms are found on tho
shores of Nantucket and elsewhere in
places TO which the adult animals arc
unknown. They never live to grow
up
The floating gulf weed is literally
crowded with life. One can not pick
up 4 piece that does not carry many
shrimps or prawns of different kinds as
passengers There are crabs, too.
small and bigger. which mostly initiate
the grasses in their coloring. OF smaller
crustacea there are numerous species.
such as the so-called sea fieas'' and
barnacles. Baruacles are crustacca
which have undergone a 'retrograde
metamorphosis," as it is termed, having
been free swimmers in the early stage
of their existence. They, too, take
passage on the seaweed RATS and voy-
age to the land of nowhere, seeking
their fortune.
in the gulf weed, also, is an infinite
number of mollusks, some with shells,
and others without any. Among the
latter are ''sea slugs." resembling the
garden slugs, devourers of plants, which
are true mollusks also. Another mol
lusl, often picked up among the gulf
weeds is the beautiful argonaut, a ce-
phalopod. celebrated in mythic story.
II is only the female argonaut that Is
interesting; the male has no shell, and
is very small comparatively.
There are lots of curious marine
worms among the gulf weed, such as
the sea centipede," abundant n the
West Indies. which have long detaeha-
bic bristles that sting the hand like
nettles when the animal is incautiously
grasped. These worms hide in crew
ices of floating driftwood. The latter
floats until destroyed by the boring of
the ship worms that attack it, mean
while affording a lodging for barnacles
low the pieces of driftwood as they arc
carried along by the current, feeding
upon both crustacea and barnaeles.
while many seabirds skim about, de-
pending for their meals upon the same
small animals. There is a species of
crayfish. too. found in the weed that
makes a curious clicking noise with its
claws.
What most people call the fruit or
seed pods of the gulf weed are sim
ply little air vessels designed for the
purpose of keeping these interesting
vegetables afloat Microscopic crea-
lures called ''briyzoa' weave around
the air chambers delicate lacework,
which often remains in shape after the
vegeta bic matter has decayed away and
disappeared, thus forming exquisite
filamentous capsules However, these
are only few of the passengers that
journey by the path of the gulf stream
ON RATS of drifting weeds.-N. Y. Sun.