Custer weekly chronicle. [volume] (Custer City, S.D.) 1890-1931, 1891-12-26
OYSTER AND STARFlsH.
An Interesting Combat That an Observ.
ant Ftsherm an Witnessed.

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''fo look at an oyster you would
never imagine that there was any
fight in 1t. would you?" asked the OBJ
servant fisherman, as he pried open the
shell Of one. mo one would, unless
he had been a witness some time TO the
oysters lighting qualities. One Of the
most exciting contests ever saw was
between an oyster and one of its most
deadly enemies. and am glad to say
that the oyster won the light. The
enemy was a starilsh. aud il all of its
kind were as fresh and indscreet as
this one was. they wouldn't be such a
source Of dread to the oyster farmer.
Every person who has anything to
do with raising oysters has seen many a
battle between them aud starlish.
These destructiy. enemies of the oysters
grow fast but seldom attempt to at
tack the biyalycs before they are six
months old. and then their inexperi-
ence gets them in a heap OF trouble
with the oysters. a startish that has
cut its eyeteeth. so TO speak. will get
the best OF an oyster every time. for it
will mount the shell. drill a hole
through it, inject its Supplying liquid
into the oyster and envelope the
whole thing with its capacious and
elastic mOulh-stomach before the poor
shelliish knows what has happened 10
ii. A school OF starii5h eau 20 through
an oyster farm almost as quickly as a
tornado can wipe out n wheat farm in
Dakota. They are virtually walking
stomachs, and l have found them
ufr "a. II. Al.
were q great deal bigger than the star
fish in their natural dimensions. When
it envelops a clam or an oyster, the
stariish simply turns itself wrong side
out and pulls itself over the object, rs
you would pull on pair of new stock
ings.
This fight / was speaking about
occurred ia shallow water and | had
good sight of il. saw the startish
working warily along over the oyster,
and then settle slowly down upon it.
The bivalve was on the lookout, how
ever, and when the starfish was near
enough the oysters she'll closed like a
steel trap on one of the startish's five
rays and cut it of as slick as if it had
been doue with knife. A stariish
doesn't mind the loss of ray or two;
in fact, it can stand the loss Of four Of
lis rays, and then 20 off and in a short
time sprout and grow the lost men,
bers again. But if the fish loses all
tive of its rays its doom is sealed.
1t will die almost Immediately.
The oyster had no sooner clipped
off one of its foes legs than 1t set its
trap again aud awaited a renewal Of
the attack, which was not long in COM
ing. The stariish dropped itself slow
ly, and with confidence that | could
almost see aud was soon astride of the
oyster again. Again the trap flew
shut, and the startish arose with only
three Of his five rays left. But Tie
starish was plucky and returned for
the third round with confidence APP
parently not the least impaired The
round was a repetition of the other
two, and the starlish was bereft OF an-
other LEG. The persistent enemy of
the oyster had apparently set MS mind
on having that particular bivalve, and
without n moments hesitation turned
his crippled body TO the assault. The
oyster was mad all the way through,
and shifted its position turning its
open shell upward as the startish drop
ped down toward him. This was the
last round of the battle. for the oyster
caught both remaining rays of the star
fish in the trap aud shipped them off
at one bite. The rayless starlish turn-
ell over and sank TO the bottom dead.
ANY man, by the way, who can hit
on some practical plan that will rid
the oyster beds OF starfish, or even
hold their rayages in check, may be
sure of the biggest fortune there is in
this country. The methods now in
|, vagina fa h-.s,i-sy aL:-------s "a -
oyster are slow, tedious aud unsatis-
factory. The startish have not ap-
peared in such large numbers this
season and the one before, but they
are numerous enough, and the farm
ers boiled a good many thousand of
them. ~ Y. Sun