The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1892-09-24
EATING sAND-FLIES.
An Aged Gentleman Who Does Not
Believe in Waste.

Believe in Waste.
From the Ne,c York World.
It was a most weird and curious specta-
Gle. The night was dark, the moon having
not yet risen. A lantern with q reflector,
set upon the sand of Asbury Park, threw a
light across the beach toward the water
In front of 1t was spread a piece Of cheese
cloth, about feet long by 5 feet wide. At
the edge or the breakers queer-looking old
gentleman 10 speotacles and bathing hat
was ceperiug around, brushing the surface
OF the sand vigorously with q handkerchief.
On further inspection it became appar ent
that he was engaged in driving toward the
lantern multitude Of little hopping crea-
lures.
These queer things that hoped were
quickly seen to be Of the species known
familiarly as "sand-feas" or sand hop
pers." But whereas they are ordinarily to be
ooserv we'd early occasionally by ones or twos,
here there seemed to be literally myriads Of
them. The method adopted by the person
in spectaoles for driving them was quite
Systematic. By Tapping with his handker-
chief be caused them 20 travel all IN one d.
| rection toward the light, which naturally at
tracted them, and they were thus made to
march in hopping and crawling army to
| aud upon the cheeseeloth, gathering round
the glass lantern and jumping against it.
| When all Of them within range had been
| driven upon the cheesecloth, he quickly
took up the latter by the corners and
1 dumped its contents, which must have
| amounted TO at least 500 hoppers, into a
| small tin wash-boiler that was partly filed
with moist sand. Then he picked up all OF
his apparatus, including the lantern and
| the cheeseoloth, and moved away to an@
other spot on the beach. where he set down
the lantern, spread the cheeseoloth
| I'm front of IL aH haFOFa and hanan
| other drive, commencing to flap the
sand with his handkerchief at some distance
away along the waters edge, and gradually
causing the sand feas to gather together
from all sides, moving in the direction OF
the lantern. Apparently there were just as
| many as had been found on the previous
occasion, and the manner in which they
were made to move strangely suggested plot
ures which every one has seen OF the proc
ess of driving fur-seals.
'You never saw anything like this be-
forep said the queer old gentleman. THAT
is because this is plan of my own inven-
| ton. 1t is funny how most people go
| through the world without observing what
Is under their notice. For example, sup
pose that you never knew that the beach
| every sea beach, in fact-has a nocturnal
population. At night, when most other
marine creatures are fast asleep, these sand
hoppers, which remain concealed In the
| sADQ curing bn6 QAYs cOL06 OUT 10 IS6Q.
| They are not insects, as Is popularity sup
posed, but crustaceans, belonging to the
| same order with the crabs and Holsters. If
| you will examine them you will find that
they are clad IN very elegant suits of armor,
| and they have powerful legs with which to
jump.
zone Of these little fellows, though 1t is
rare to find one as much as an inoh in
length, can leap eighteen inches. II you
| were built equally well for jumping you
would think nothing Of skipping 100 feet at
q bound. These sand-hoppers are the scav-
engers of the beach. OF course, there Is a
vast amount of organic refuse, both animal
and vegetable, thrown up by the waves, and
| the task Of removing it and Of keeping the
beach always fresh and clean is per-
formed by the sand fleas, who come
| out of the sand by millions as soon
as night falls and clear away all such
rubbish. They keep at the very edge of
the surf, where every receding wave leaves
something for their consumption, but,
though the pillows constantly flow over
them, they emerge Immediately, because
| they are air-breathing animals and would
be drowned il submerged for any length of
time"
But what do you catch them for3" was
asked of the queer old gentleman.
"To eat" he replied. They make an ad-
mirsble salad with mayonnaise dressing,
and they are very good indeed simply boiled,
with pepper and vinegar"