Weekly expositor. (Brockway Centre, Mich.) 1882-1894, 1891-10-30
LIVING In A GULF WEED.
JOURNEYING WITH THE GULF
STREAMS CURRENT.
All Sorts of Curious Little Animals-
The Floating Gulf Weed Is Liter
ally Crowded With Life In
Endless Forms.

It Is surprising what curious Great
ures live in gulf weed. Not the least
extraordinary OF these inhabitants of
the floating alg8 which are borne on
the current of the Gulf stream is lit
tie fish that makes its nest in the
weeds. For its own protection from
enemies, it is made so like the weeds
themselves, being orange colored with
white spots, that one cannot detect the
scaly animal without actually taking a
handful of the vegetable stuff in which
il seeks shelter and scrutinizing 1t.
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 fins are finger SHAPED. counter
feiting the form of the weed fronds
They are more like hands than fins,
and are actually employed for walking
through the. seaweed, rather than for
swimming The fish utilizes them
also in putting together its nests.
The great gulf current. says the N.
Y. Sun, 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 end
less 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, con-
veyed by the mighty river of warm
water through the midst of the colder
ocean. Most OF them die when the
colder ATTITUDES are reached, and thus
it happens that the larvae of many
forms are found on the shores OF Nan
tucket 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 cannot 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
feas" and barnacles. Barnacles are
crustacea which have undergone a
"retrograde metamorphosis. p" as it is
termed, having been free swimmers in
the early stage OF their existence.
They, too take passage on the sea-
weed RATS and voyage to the land of
nowhere, seeking their fortune.
In the gulf weed also, is an indefn-
tie number Of mollusks some with
shells and others without them.
Among the latter are the sea slugs,"
resembling the garden slugs, devour-
ers of plants which are true molusks
also. Another mollusk often picked
up among the gulf weeds is the beau
tiful argonaut cephalopod, celebra-
ted in mythic story. 1t is only the fe-
male 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 centipedes," abundant in the
West Indies, which have long detach-
able bristles that sting the hand like
nettles when the animal is incautious-
" grasped. These worms hide in crew
ices OF floating driftwood. The lat
ter floats until destroyed by the boring
OF the ship worms that attack it.
meanwhile affording Judgment for
barnacles and little crustacea. Small
fishes follow the pieces of driftwOod as
they are carried along by the current
feeding upon both crustacea and bar
nacles while many seabirds skim
about depending for their meals upon
the same small animals. There is
species of crayfsh, too. found in tn
weed that makes curious clicking
noise with its claws.
What most people call the fruit"
or seed pods" OF the gulf weed are
simply little air vessels designed for
the purpose OF keeping these interest
ing vegetables aAoat Microscopic crea-
lures called 'briyzoa" weave around
the air chambers a delicate lacework.
which often remains in shape after the
vegetable matter has decayed away
and disappeared, thus forming exquis-
it filamentous capsules. However.
these are only few Of the passengers
that journey by the path of the gulf
stream on RATS of drifting weeds.