Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1892-04-16
sPINNERs OF THE OCEAN.
noiLrsKs WHICH wrkvE THRrkrs THAT Am
MOST WONDERFUL TO MANKIND.

EuSI WONDERFUL TO NANkfNh
The mussel may well be called the spinner
OF the sea-" said a eonchologis, TO a srsa
writer. 1T makes and weayes its silken
tnreads very much the spider docs. An
important part OF its anatomy is a slender and
very muscular foot OF triangular shape, under
and behind which 10 a gland that sccretes q
Niscid and hSf-liquid fluid. This fluid runs
INTO groove IN the foot. where II quickly
sets and becomes a firm thread. Tho thread
is pulled out by the Withdrawing Of tho foot.
another thread Is formed. and so on until the
mussel has tied i;solf securely by ever 90
many strong cords.
1T Is very interesting 10 sec how the mussel
manages 10 climb mp the perpendicular sides
OF rocks or pics by means % the-e threads
which are stretched ont aud attached bv the
foot. one after another. in the direction IN
which the animal wishes to climb each ON. b,-
ing fastened a little higher than the last Thu.
the heavy shell 10 drawn up gradually IN much
the same manner as that employed by some
spiders when suspending an unusually iarrs
victim. You would hardly imagine that %
small a creature could be a helpful servant 20
man. ana yet the spinning and weaving Of thu.
humble mollCsk have been turned Co most val
liable account At tho town OF Bdeiord IN
DeNon>hirc, Is n Icing bridge Of twenty -four
arches, crossing the Torridge river. Ihs tide.
TOW with such sNlftness at this bridge that no
mortar will hold the masonry OF the arches.
But the corporation Of the town keep boat.
Tor the parpose OF bringing muses. FROM q
distance. which arc applied 20 every iutrrstico
OF the stone work. Tho masonry Is entirely
supported and held together by the strong
threads these biNalycs SPIN. aud the law make.
1t CRIME. punishable by transportation, to
remove any of them.
Having spent the first few DAYS OF their ex-
istence AS free-swimmIng animals. after being
Matched from the ecgs musscls usually iust-n
themselves together and 10 a common object
SO as 20 form large clusters. Thus. by means
OF multiplied system of ropes. they secure 80
hrm an anchorage rs TO be able 20 resist tie
most violent storms However. they eau let go
when they want TO. and creep about until they
and a better resting place. Thor closely knit
ted colonies do much 70 prevent wear and tear
by the waves on certain portions of the sea
coast Like oysters. they entertain small par
asitlc crabs. which make their homes IN the
shells OF the living mollusks. These little
crustacean boarGers are OF a ferent SPECIES
from the oyster crabs. Young seals depend
largely for food upon the big arctic mussels,
which are plentiful as far north as Point Bar
row, in the Arctic ocean. On the coast Of
Alaska n as far south as Puget sound mus
sells Coz stIiute the only moluscan supply,
There being no oysters and very few CLANS IN
that region, and the native women ana chill
dron are constantly gathering them
Es''Ihe Alaskan method OF cooking nlusssols 10
10 boil them. bunch OF ten. twenty or per
haps forty pounds weight is put into pot. and
when the shells cape the water Is poured Of
the people gathering around and picking Out
the meats with their fingers. Sometimes the
blvalves are roasted also. They are very little
priced as an article OF diet on the Atlantic
coast, partly because such a wealth of oysters
and clans Is at hand. but tho aboriginal In-.
dams were very fond of them aud consumed
them IN great quantities. as Is proved by the
mounds OF shells composing the debris OF
ancient fcasts which remain TO this day Tho
Delawares, and doubtless other tribes. en-
ployed musse! shells. the edges Of which we're
sharpened on the gritty rocE, tor pincors To
pull out their boards with
"Mussels are much used abroad as food
They are bred IN France IN enclosures OF Ne.
water, frames AID hanging ropes being sup
merged for them 70 attach themselves To. AZ
intervals these ropes or frames are hauled M
and made TO yield their crop. For the same
purpose parks, as they are called are planted
IN the shadows Of the North sea. Trees. from
which all but the larger branches have been
cut, are stuck into the bottom at such n dir
lance from shoro that the upper portions Of
them shall be laid bare at low water After
four or five years they are raised. stripped and
replaced with Others. In the Bay OF He'll Ger
many, 1000 tons of mussels are raised m siu.-
liar fashion yearly. Massels are propagatedl IN
the Adriatic on ropes extended between poi.s
rammed into the ground. The ropes are
stripped once IN eighteen months The musscl
beds OF Great Britain are worth hundreds of
thousands of dollars annually.
THE mollusk which has been POLITICALLY
called the 'silkworm of the sea- Is a mussel q
the Mediterranean, known to science as the
pima 1t spins a kind OF thread so beautiful
and fine that in Sicily tho material Ia woven
into gloves and stockings. These articles are
very costly aud have not been thought un-
worthy presents for pope"