Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1893-10-21

pM NfNkO new collection OF
U1tl IN fishes and other wa
WV ter-dwelling crea-
lures fetched by the steamer Fish Hawk
from the ocean and from Chesapeake bay.
One of the freshly-obtained curiosties is a
sting-ray about three feet long. 1t was
captured in the Chesapeake, where the
water is pretty salt-a formidable creature,
truly. More than half Of it's length is tail,
and this appendage is armed with a strange
ivory weapon, sharp pointed and with many
barbs. When the animal is alarmed it
th-ashes around with its tail, and woe be-
tide the luckless fisherman who gets stuck
with 1t in the leg.
A sting" properly speaking the weapon
Is not; but to all intents and purposes it is
quite as bad. The slime that covers 1t
poisons the wound and causes gangrene 1t
| cannot be drawn out on account of the
barbs. but must be cut out. The writer
once met man who had stepped on a
sting-ray's sting while walking in shallow
water. 1t went through his foot. The ami
NAL to which 1t had once belonged was long
dead, SO that there was no slime on 1t; but
the victim nearly died all the same.
While wading in the shadows haunted by
these unpleasant creatures, 1t is not uncom-
mon to see portion Of what looks like the
bottom glide slowly away. The effect is the
reverse Of agreeable to the observer. But,
of course this animal Is a mild creature
compared with its near relative, the true
devil fish Of tropical waters. The stories
told of the ferocity of that monster ray are
appalling. 1t weighs a ton or more when
full-grown, and is said to have run away
with small vessels on occasions, having be-
come entangled in the anchor ropes.
StinR-rav n he fSh mis-
aquarium looks harmless enough as 1t lies
on the bottom of the tank motionless But
its eyes are wide open and bright, showing
that 1t is quite alive and on the alert The
hsh has somewhat the appearance Of an
exaggerated founder. 1t attains length of
eight feet, though specimens of that size
are rarely seen. All fishermen regard sting
rays as their deadly foes and kill them
when they can, as they do sharks, often
tortUring them incidentally.
Quick Tempered Crabs.
Likewise from the Chesapeake are a num-
Der of fine big blue crabs of the edible spe-
Giles. They get along excellently in confne-
ment. and, though they have a reputation
TO- combativeness ii Is not observed that
they fight very much. Spider crabs, on the
other hand. soon die in the aquaria. and
the case is the same with the little hermit
crabs, which occupy the vacant shells Of
various mollusks. The hermit crabs are
the most quarrelsome creatures Imaginable.
and are forever indulgtng in pitched battles
with each other.
In the Chesapeake region, by the way,
the fishermen have a very odd method of
keeping blue crabs alive and fresh for bait
They dig good-SZed pit, and In the bot
tom of this they eXcavate a smaller hole
Into the latter they put the crabs and cover
them with boards laid across at the bottom
of the upper pit. Then they fill the pit with
earth. mus the crabs are actually buried
in a chamber where they have space
enough to crawl about little surrounded
by cool earth. Under such conditions they
will stay. alive and well for many days.
Seven brand new Holsters are tenants of
another aquarium. The do not live long
under such conditions, though nobody
knows why. 1t is the same way with q
familiar fresh-water crustacean not unlike
the lobster structurally-namely, the cray
fish. Both crayfish and lobster seem to re-
quire moving water for health. The former
Is not found in ponds, but only in running
streams. Maybe their breathing has some
thing to do with the problem. Sometimes
the fish commission gets the lobster for its
aquaria from the market-all alive. oh!
Yet another aquarium contains a lot Of
fiddler crabs, collected by the Fish Hawk
They are funny creatures to be sure and
will bear watching by the hour. One pecu-
liarity of theirs Is that one of their claws Is
huge, nearly as big as the whole body
ordinary proportion. The use of this big
claw has been subject of dispute for a
long time, but an eminent naturalist has
recently hit upon a new and interesting
theory. He calls the little animals sun
worshipers," because 1t is when the sun
shines brightly that they love to come out
OF their holes in the mud banks and scam
per about While doing SO, this expert al
leges, they hold the big claw so as to shade
their eyes from the glare-meanwhile en-
ploying the small left-hand claw to pick up
food.
In one Of the aqua-ia there ia n whole
basketball of fresh-caught cells; one of
them about four feet long. Fishermen ap-
preciate them, though the women visitors
do say that they look like snakes. No diff
Guilty Is found in keeping them in confine-
ment. They will live in any moist medium
apparently. fresh water salt water or mud.
No little ones have been Matched and reared
at the fish commissions stations. The
manner OF their propagation Is as vet in
dispute; but there is no doubt that they
breed in the sea always. 1t has been as
serted lately that only cells Of one sex ever
leave the ocean and ascend the rivers.
In the Manner of u Balloon,
Among other fishes in the new assortment
at the aquarta are little mummy-chogs str,n-
ed mullet, tantog menhaden and swell fish
The last named have a peculiar fashion
when caught of putting themselves up bv
swallowing air until they look like small
pdiioohS. L HIS may De merely manneriSm
OF thei-s,b but 1t has all the appearance of be-
ing done out Of sheer i'll temper. Get one
on your hook-they are a great bother tn
anglers in southern waters, forever taking
hold or the bait when game Of size and
worth is sought-haul 1t into the boat and
Immediately 1t begins swelling itself until
1t looks ready to burst.
Stick pin in it and it collapses lust like
balloon under similar circumstances
Inc animal Is very ugly, is not good to
eat and has nothing to recommend it ex-
cept Its eyes, which are of a most bea,lti-
full blue-bright and of the hue of the sky
itself. Which reminds one to speak of a
curious disease that attacks many of the
infiamed, the cornea turns white and
In an advanced stage of the Complaint a
fungous growth develops on the eyeballs.
Nobody knows what causes the trouble
though there are several theories The
tantog seem to suffer from 1t particularly.
in general, as to their eyes and otherwise
should not enjoy as good health in these
aQuaria as in their native haunts. The
water is kept aerated by means of a let
Of air projected into each tank by a power
full force pump. This is found to be a more
satisfactory plan in most Instances than
supplying fresh water. A few of the tanks
on the other hand, are what are termed
balanced aquarta; that Is to say, the
vegetable life and animal life In them keep
each other going, the plants yielding oxy-
gen and feeding the fishes, and the latter
giving off carbOnic acid IN feed tho plaptc