Arizona republican., 1892-05-15
CLANS THAT CRAWL.
sHELLFlSH METAMoRPHoSeD BY A
 FREAK OF NATURE.

A California Farmer Makes n 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 in Fresno yesterday, and in conversation with a 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 mile of low, nearly level land that borders the lake has been rendered dry and cultivable. There arc large numbers of shellfish, 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, and the moist, warm ground preserved them and maintained life.
 But the most remarkable thing is that they have undergone Il metamor- phosis, or have been evolutionized, inas- much as tho clans and mussels that were deposited on dry land have grown well defined legs or claws from the un- 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. Sho gathered few of the mussels in her apron and brought them up and showed them tO hermother 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 evolutionizcd than the rest, we saw tiny legs or fcelcrs wiggliug about As l 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. It 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.
 "On the part of the land that had been reclaimed 1 observed that the wheat was uibbled 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 a time at complete loss to account for the chewed mp masses of tender shoots that dotted the ground in all di- rections.
 Il stopped and began to think. Soon noticed that the clam shells were quite plentiful where l stood. A sudden movement near my feet caused me to stoop and investigate. Here l saw the most surprising thing that ever came to my notice
 "The moving object was nothing more nor less than an evolutionized clam or mussei, walking on it's 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 apronfui of mussels which my daughter Kate had gathered
 "I 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 yiciously at my fingers and tried to wig gle away.
 'On examination saw ilAt 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 starye, and with that end in view has endowed the stranded animals with means of loco motion on land, and further given them a 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 mouthful of sprouts; then he begins to masticate it. When the juices are extracted he retains the fluid and expels the fibrous 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 l am greatly interested in the evolutionized clam or mussel as he exists on the reclaimed lands of Lake Tulare, but l am out nearly nine acres of as promising grain as ever grew by reason of their depredations. We farm CTS don't have much time to study sci ence, and l don't know what may exist in other parts of the world, but [ must say that nothing similar to this discov- cry has ever been mentioned in any books or papers have read.
 "Tho clans seem to have lost all de- sire for water. am preparing to guard against future encroachments, and will hire enough men to chase them off the place, after which will build a clam proof fence around my ranch or else sell out cheap to some one who hoots Ht this statement of what is Gospel truth and can be proved by a dozen of my neigh. bors, who have lost more or less wheat and alfalfa in the same way. "- Fresno (Cal.) Expositor.