Weekly expositor. (Brockway Centre, Mich.) 1882-1894, 1893-12-29
THE RECORD IN SHELLS.
THE OLDEST FORM OF AMI
NAL LIFE ON EARTH.
Strangely Formed Creatures Undor
Varying COnditions-Shells OF Many
Forms of Great Size and beauty
Smithsonian Collection.

III. Dali has cosy Office You can
reach it only by long lights OF stairs
winding around the tower, similar &c
those in the old English castles.
/ From this Office DR.. Dali presides
over the department of shells in the
institution. 1t is the largest con-
Geological collection in the world.
From shells millions of years old Dr.
Dali will perhaps demonstrate much
about the great age of the earth,
and show how knowledge of this,
probably the oldest form OF animal
life in this planet, is indispensable to
the science of geology.
In this large collection of many
forms of great size and beauty, which
we'll nigh fills the main hall of the
Smithsonian building, he has mon
strous snails that live in trees all their
| lives, abalones that catch Cinnamon
on the coast of the Pacific ocean and
| hold them until the tide rises and
ends their agony, beautiful conches
| of iridescent colors in which rare
pearls are found, shells of exquisite
coloring. There are almost 500, 600
in all, and a big volume would not
suffice to enumerate all the interest
ing specimens
The biggest shells are found on
large barrier reef of the Indian
ocean, 1920 miles long, east Of
Australia Here the monsters come
up on the rocks, which are almost
| inaccessible, and grow TO weigh over
800 pounds. The Smithsonian has
one of these bivalves In its collection
which stands over three feet high.
1t has saw tooth edge, and inside
large muscle scar. The natives
stand in as much fear of them as
| they do OF q mad elephant and many
traditions are common among them
of how arms and legs have been
bitten off.
Mr. Simpson, who showed the
Washington Post reporter among the
,ecimens, said it was believed in
Australia that these mollusks some
times grew to weigh q ton. The
scientists believe they live 10) years.
Good authorities have seen these
massive creatures as large as ships
long-boat.
Probably the prettiest and most
delicate of the shell creations, is tn Q
argonaut or paper sailor" The
she'll is like a tiny boat, and is set
upon keel Of beautiful workman
ship. 1t is coiled many times upon
itself. The little craft would cap
size but for tiny arms that stretch
out from the side and keep it steady.
These are not used for propelling
it. In the stern there is a small ST.
| phon. through which the animal
drives ia water while en- voyage and
pumps il out again with great force.
! This sends the delicate shell swiftly
over the surface of the water They
sail in troops in all the warm waters
of the world. In the Indian and Pa
| cific oceans they are very common.
These shells might be taken as an
example of the superiority OF the fe-
male sex, for only the females, says
Mr. Simpson, have been accommo-
dated with shells The male is an
insignificant creature, and rovolves
about the course of his spouse as
satellite.
A strange thing, too, is that the
animal can separate itself from its
boat home without injury, and attach
itself again at pleasure. This is true
with no other kind of she'll life wi Tia
which scientists are familiar. The
shells are very thin and as white as
bleached linen. They are so fragile
that a breath will almost crush
them. Strange as it may seem, they
are taken up by the ocean and car
ried hundreds of miles, to be laid
tenderly down on the beach without
injury. 1t is from the sight of these
beautiful crafts that the saying
"argosies of sails" originated. They
have been the subject of a wealth of
poetic lore.
The abalone is a curious shell |. 1t
is big and flat and stays the most of
the time on the top of some avored
rock. 1t resembles saucer, only,
In most cases it is much larger In
side is a giant muscle attached at
one end to the shell which serves as
a root for it, and at the other end is
q big foot. 1t should be remembered
that all snails and most OF the she'll
tribe have feet and can walk with
them, although their locomoti ton is
painfully slow. The foot of the
abalone is provided with a powerful
suction cup. 1t gets on top of a
rock, which is covered a part of the
time by the tide, and stays there UNI
til the contour of its shell conforms
to the hard surface.
It PROBABLY eats away the rock in
places by depositing carbonic acid.
When it gets hungry Il raises one
edge OF its shell and the water that
comes splashing up the side OF the
rock brings animalcule which the
abalone appropriates for its dinner.
Some kinds of this she'll are carniv-
orous and prey upon small mollusks.
John Chinaman is especially fond
OF the meat of the abalone, and
along the coast OF California a great
number Of them are taken for food.
The large muscle is dried and large
| oh IT. de