River Falls journal. [volume] (River Falls, Pierce County, Wis.) 1872-2019, 1895-10-31
The JELLYFIsH STING.

A Jerseyman who Studies the Habits Of
the sea NettIe Finds a Cause for its
Sting.
The observant Jerseyman has discov-
cred what he believes is q sure cure for
the sting Of that pest Of many finebath-
ing waters, the sea ncttle. or jellvfish.
During the earlier part of the summer
In this neighborhood the waters are
quite free from the jellyfsh, but when
abe heats of August are upon us. and
those who are fortunate enough TO be
living near good bathing grounds
would be in the water every day, the
sea nettles make their appearance. and
often in such numbers as 10 positively
drive people away from bathing. 1t is
not often that they become such
nuisance as this at open sea resorts.
but they do so occasionally even there.
II is the enclosed waters, such as the
Kills, the Shrewsbury river, and the
lower part of Long Island sound, that
suffer most.
The pretty, clear, jelly-like, umbrel-
la-shaped nettles come floating into
these quiet waters on every tide, in
creasing in size. in mum bers and in
virulence with every day OF heat. until
there is hardly possibility of even the
most careful bather remaining I'M
stung. Even if there be not a single
jellyfish in sight, you can not be sure
that it is not at hand, hidden just be-
meath where the eye can see into the
waters, and ready TO come up when q
victim is in sight; for these soft, Curl
Gus creatures can swim at will. driving
themselves along quite rapidly by the
opening and closing of their umbrella
shaped tops. and they can see and feel,
and smell, too, it is said. At any rate.
if you t-'y TO catch one, there is good
chance that it will suddenly sink out
of sight as you approach it, and if you
notice them drifting along with the
tide you VIII see that they do not col
Tide with objects in the water
Scientific people who have studied
them say that all along the edge of the
umbrella top, between the streamers
that hang from it like fringe, they
have discovered hits Of the character
istic nerves of special senses. Here
they have found eye specks, auditory
sacs, and olfactory grooves. The
mouth is at the lower end of the long
central streamer The singing facili-
ties of the animal lie principally in the
long. slender streamers which form
the fringe TO the umbrella top.
You may take the whole creature up
in the palm of your hand and you will
not feel single bit of sting. Even
on the back of a tough hand it will not
be felt, but get tangled up in those
& =.
what happens! As each fine tentacle
draws about the tender parts of your
body you will feel at each place OF con-
tact sharp, burning sensation, and
presently the skin there will become
fiery red. Try what you may of the
usual remedies for stings, and none
will succeed in driving away either the
pain or the redness 1t is not a very
severe pain, but it is annoying.
The scientific people say that the
poison cells consist of little capsule
| filled with an irritating liquid and con-
tanning a spirally coiled ilaInent which
/ has lot of hooks upon it. When the
cell is touched they say, the filament
/ flies out like a spring and tears the
/ skin. and at the same time carries out
tue Dtl4SOlA Win IL W lAak otAE mum =
is that every pore of the afflicted skin
swells up until the part looks like
goose flesh, and from each pore
Is exuded a copious supply of clear
water. This often continues for
many hours after leaving the water.
What the observant Jerseyman first
noticed that led to his final expert
ments was the curious effect which
| fresh water has upon these saltwater
| jellyfishes He gathered lot of them
up one day, one by one, in a shrimp
net. and gently deposited them in the
cold fresh water of one of his orna-
mental ponds. The jellyfishes were
/ got into the fresh water without being
broken or injured in any way, but be-
fore they could even float out into
their proper form they were dead and
/ had turned white, as if they were of
/ albumen and had been boiled. The
/ tentacles, which in salt water re-
r1ain poisonous even when broken
of. were no longer so. Then it
occurred to the Jerseyman that pos
sibly the irritating poison which they
exude might depend for its effect upon
being in salt water. The next time he
went bathing ne took along pail OF
fresh water and sought occasion to be
stung The poison was allowed to work
until his bath was finished. Then the
affected part was washed in the fire sh
water. The singing ceased almost
instantly, and did not recur.
Upon another occasion the poison
was left to work for several hours, and
the emulation of wate from the irri-
tated pores was so great IS fairly to
soak a cuff from a sting on the wrist,
and to wet collar from a sting on the
neck. One fresh water application
cured the stings at once.--N. L. Sun.
BRowN-"Our candidate says the salary
of the Office is no object 70 nlm." Jones
81 suppose he has his eye on the perquis-
ties brooklyn Life.