San Antonio daily light. [volume] (San Antonio, Tex.) 1886-1907, 1892-06-01
CLANS THAT CRAWL.
SHELLFlSH METAMoRPHoSED BY A.
FREAK OF NATURE.
A California Farmer Makes Startling
Discovery on Some swamp Land Which
He Had Reclaimed and Planted with
wheat-He Wants to Sell Out.

A gentleman, who lives near Lemoore.
Tulare county, was i'll Fresno yesterday.
and in conversation with reporter he
gave the following account of most
peculiar nuisance that is greatly annoy
ing farmers in that locality. The gen.
tleman, whose name is d. Ennis, says:
Lake Tulare has fallen about four
feet. This means, of course. that nearly
a mile of low, nearly level land that
borders the lake has been rendered dry
and cultivable. There are large numbers
OF shelltish, such as CLANS and mussels.
in the lake, and the receding water left
some of them high and dry on the land.
Vast quantities of them have been
plowed under, aud the moist, warm
ground preserved them and maintained
life
But the most remarkable thing is
that they have undergone metamor
phosis, or have been evolutionized. mas
much as the CLANS and mussels that
were deposited on dry land have grown
we'll defined legs or claws froAn the uu-
der part of the shells. or rather that part
of the shell which lay underneath when
the clam was in repose.
my eldest daughter Kate first noticed
this abnormal growth during ramble
around the place. She gathered few
of the mussels in her apron and brought
them up and showed them to her mother
and to me. We did not inspect them
closely, but saw that three distinct little
protrusions. in triangular shape, marked
the bleached side of the shells. On one
of them, which seemed larger or further
evolutionized than the rest, we saw tiny
legs or feelers weighing about. As
have just said, we didn't pay much at
tention at that time to the shells Kate
brought in.
However had occasion to go down
over my land, where wheat had been
sown. 1t was coming up nicely and
was from one to three or four inches
high in the most favorable portions of
the field. noticed many mussel shells
lying around. Some of the shells were
split and broken, while others were in
tact.
ION the part of the land that had
been reclaimed | observed that the
wheat was nibbled off. and that little
masses of half masticated sprouts were
lying around pretty thickly. was will
ing to attribute the nibbling to the
water fowl and jack rabbits, but was
for time at complete loss to account
for the chewed up masses of tender
shoots that dotted the ground in all di-
rections.
II stopped and began to think. Soon
noticed that the clam shells were quite
plentiful where | stood A sudden
movement near my feet caused me to
stoop and investigate. Here | saw the
most surprising thing that ever came to
my notice.
THE moving object was nothing more
nor less than an evolutionized clam or
mussel, walking on its three legs, while
with the sharp edges of its shell it was
biting off and chewing the young and
tender grain. / was simply amazed, but
soon recalled the apronful of mussels
which my daughter Kate had gathered.
Il stopped down and tried to pick up
the clam, but it ran away at tolerable
rate and was compelled to knock it
over with singletree which was car
rying. gathered it up and it snapped
viciously at my fingers and tried to wig
gle away.
son examination | saw that its
mouth, or rather the mussel portion of
the creature. was full of young wheat.
and that green saliva was present
where colorless juices exist in the water
living animals.
Now, my theory of this transforma-
ton is that nature has determined not
to let this helpless creation starve, and
with that end in view has endowed the
stranded animals with means of loco
motion on land, and further given them
faculty for existing on the food that
has hitherto been foreign to their taste.
"As you know, the wheat sprouts are
exceedingly tender and full of nourish-
ing juices. The clam with its three legs
walks about and nibbles a mouthful
of sprouts; then he begins to masticate
it. When the juices are extracted he
retains the fluid and expels the tibrous
portion of the plant, and by virtue of
his reorganized nature he is nourished
and grows fat in his new line of living.
"Of course am greatly interested in
the eyolutionized clam or mussel as he
exists on the reclaimed lands of Lake
Tulare, but / am ont nearly nine acres
of as promising grain as ever grew by
reason of their depredations. We farm
ers don't have much time to study sci
ence. and | don't know what may exist
in other parts of the world, but | must
say that nothing similar to this discov-
ery has ever been mentioned in any