Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1892-01-09
SEA sNAILs AND THEIR USES
Dye and Many Other Valuable Thing. W hich
They Are Made to Contribute.

Dyes and Many Other Valuable Things W hich
They Are Made to Contribute
sSSNAILS THAT LIVE IN THE SEA ARE
~ useful for very many more important pur-
poses than most people imagine" said nat
uralist to STAR writer. ''Some of them. known
as wrinkles, are used 10 a great extent for food
In England, being sold a: the street corners
IN the cities. where they are esteemed great
luxury by the poor. On the North Atlantic
coast we have certain species Of whelks which
might be made TO serve admirably for eating
anording q cheap and nutritious diet Even
In the waters of the far Arctic these gastero-
pods are found in great numbers. where thew
sometimes supply a means of subsistence TO
castaway whalers and other voyagers who
would otherwise perish Of starvation.
On the other hand, some univalves
DO great deal of damage by de-
stroying oysters in beds. drilling through
the shells with their file-like tongues and suck
ing out the occupants Of the houses into
winch they have thus forced an entrance. The
conch, instead OF drilling like the wheIks
series the unfortunate bivalve with its power
fui foot and brushes it, by the sheer exertion
OF muscular power, as one would smash an
English walnC. in the fist
fretty nearly every one has seen tine curi-
found plentiiully on ocean beaches Thes, an,
the egg cases OF the sea snails They consist of
number Of small disk shaped envelopes AZ
tached along sort ofstem. the biggest OF the m
being IN the middle. In each envelope there
Is little spot of thinner material throu ,b
which the young break through when they are
ready to be Matched. When the female CASTER
opod Is about TO lay she buries herself IA he
| sand, from the surface of which the necklace
| OF eggs is gradually extruded. Being thus set
adrlit and exposed 10 the elements az well as
TO aevoaring enemies few of the eggs are ever
| Matched, but those which do come into the
world safely and survive doubtless live to a
very great age.
HOW TYRIAN PURPLE WAS MADE.
1.-Two kinds Of boring sea snails supplied in
ancient times the most famous OF all dyes.
known as Tyrian purple. which was considered
too splendid to be worn BY any but kings and
mobiles. One pound of wool dyed with it was
worth SIS. the process by which il was ex-
tracted being very tedious and six pounds of
dye liquor being required for staining pound
OF wool. The liquor was procured by placing
the very small whelks in a mortar and crush
ing them. 10 this the animals extracted from
the larger shells were added, as Well as a GER
tain proportion Of urine and water in which
the snails had been allowed to purify. In the
mixture thus compounded the cloth or wool to
be dyed was soaked, being afterward exposed 10
hight. Chemists say that by this process there
was effected transformation of uric acid into
purpurate OF ammonia. termed for short
murexlde because one Of the two species OF
snalls used was the murex. The other species
was what is known as the purpura-
The murex and purpura were mixed in the
process in the proportion Of two to one. Fab
rlcs thus dyed bad very surprising and beau
tiful effect of color, presenting metallic green
reflections from one point of view and In others
showing brown and purple tin:s. Chemists for
some time imagined that the iridescence of the
feathers of humming birds and peacocks was
caused by substance Of the nature of murex-
ide, but it is known now that these brilliant
hues are occasioned by structure Of the feath.
| ers which breaks up the light Murexide is
now obtained from guano as well as from mol
| lusks.
OTHER DIES FROM wHELKs.
"Other whelks also yield dyes. II the shell
OF the purpura lapillus be broken there il
seen on the back OF the animal. just under the
skin, slender whitish vein which contains a
yellow liquor. When this liquor is applied 10
| linen with u small brush and exposed to the
sun it becomes successfully green, blue and
purple, and finally settles into a brilliant IN
changeable crimson. Housewives of New Eng
land have growing abundantly OH the seaside
rocks in their neighborhoods little living bot
ties Of indelible ink, not TO be excelled in
beauty or durability by any manufactured
product, since neither acid nor alcohol will
affect this juice of the whelk.
ION the Pacific coast are numerously found
little shells of sea snails, of a species called
the 'olivella, because of their resemblance to
olives, out Of which the Indians used to cut
disks that were extensively used for coins.
Conch shells. when ground, enter into the
manufacture OF porcelain. The rose-colored
pearls Of the pink conch are very valuable and
have beautiful wavy sheen like that of
watered silk. In the neighborhobd" Of the
Bermudas the sea is extremely transparent. SO
that the fishermen can readily see the horns of
Holsters protruding from their hiding places in
the rocks at considerable depths. To entice
the crustaceans from these crannies they tie a
lot of snails into a bali and dangle them in
front of the cautious lobster. When he grabs
the ball they haul him up.
"Ihrushes and other birds crush the shells
of land snails and extract their Juicy bodies.
as do also raccoons aud wood rats, but
woodland birds will not eat naked snnils be-
cause the slime on them sticks to their beaks
and spoils their feathers"