Lawrence democrat. (Lawrenceburg, Tenn.) 1884-1925, 1891-12-18
LIFE IN GULF WEED.
All Sorts of Curious Animals That Journey
With the Gulf Streams Current.

All Sorts OF Curious Animals Inht Journey
With the Gulf Streams Current.
1t surprising what curious creatures
live in gulf weed. Not the least extra
ordinary of these inhabitants Of the
floating alge which are Lorne' on the
current Of the Gulf stream is little
fish that makes its nest in the weeds.
For it's own protection from enemies,
it is made so like the weeds themselves,
being orange-colored with white spots,
that one can not detect the sca|y ami
NAL without actually taking handful
of the vegetable stuff in which it seeks
shelter and scrutinizing it. The fish
builds it's nest by binding together
punches of the gulf weed with long,
sticky, gelatinous strings. Its eggs are
not laid in cavity, but are distributed
through the mass. Its very fins are
finger-shaped counterfeiting the form
of the weed-fronds. They are more
like hands than fins, and are actually
employed for walking through the sea-
weed rather than for swimming. The
fish utilizes 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 it's 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 1t happens that the
larvae of many forms are found on the
shores of Nantucket and elsewhere in
places to which the adult animals are
unknown They never live to grow
up.
The floating gulf weed is literally
crowded with life. One can not pick
up 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 heas" and
| barnacles. Barnacles are crustacea
which have undergone ''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
lusk often picked up among the gulf
weeds is the beautiful argonaut, ce'
| phalopod, celebrated in mythic story.
1t 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 in the
West Indies, which have long detacha-
bic bristles that sting the hand like
nettles when the animal is incautiously
grasped. These worms hide in crev
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
and little crustacea Small fishes fol-
low the pieces of driftwood as they are
carried along by the current, feeding
upon both crustacea and barnacles,
while many seabirds skim about de-
pending for their meals upon the same
small animals. There is species OF
crayhsh, too, found in the weed that
makes curious clicking noise with its
claws.
What most people call tho 'fruit'' OF
''seed pods" of the gulf weed are sim
ply little air vessels designed for the
purpose of keeping these interesting
vegetables afoat. Microscopic crea
lures called 'briyEca" weave arount
the air chambers delicate lacework
which often remains in shape after thu
vegetable matter has decayed away ant
disappeared, thus forming exquisite
tilamen<ous capsules. However, these
are only few of the passengers tina
journey by the path of the gulf stream
on RATS of drifting weeds.- IN. Y. Sun