The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1898-03-13
SEA CUCUMDERs.
An Ocean Curiosity That Possesses
More Lives Than Cat.

An Ocean Curiosity That Possesses
More Lives Than Cat.
From the Cincinnati Commercial Tribune
The sea cucumbers, or. as they arc
known in the scientific world TIE holothu-
ria, are extraordinary looking creatures
which vary in size from two TO three inches
in length to more than yard. They bear
some semblance to cucumber. being a
long, wormllke cylinder open at one end
Their exterior is runled with little proJec-
tons, which are usually armed with min
ute, sharp hooks, by which The animal can
hang on to foreign bodies for a few sec
onds.
Many of the species are able to produce
from their external pores a most irritat-
ing fluid which causes the hand that
touches them TO itch intolerably. But the
creature possesses a most wonderful pow
er; when, from any cause, 1t fears death,
ii can eject all its teeth. Its stomach, it's
digestive apparatus and reduce itself into
a simple membraneous sac. DR. johnson
kept one of those anlmalsfin an aquarium;
for some reason or other he neglected 10
feed 1t, and when, after some days, he
visited 1t, he found all its internal apparat-
us out on the floor Of the vessel and the
holothuria itself was a shrunken, dilapi-
dated and empty tube. Yet 1t was alive
and in three months had reproduced all its
organs anew.
Another singular property they possess
is that Of being able to divide themselves
into two parts, each part becoming a sep
arate creature. When this Phenomenon IS
in progress the middle Of the animal begins
to contract and the extremities enlarge.
This goes on until the center IS but
thread at last II snaps and forms Two Dig
tinct creatures. which in time furnish
themselves with all the necessary organs
Our fishermen throw away the yea Gu
cumbers, which are sometimes brought up
them greatly and the "trepang" as they
call the holothuria, forms very prom!-
nent article Ia all the Chinese markets
The great trepang fishers are Malays. The
experiences with which they can capture
the creature Is remarkable BY long OK
perience they can see trepang at depth
of thirty yards. They then poise a har-
pooh made of long bamboo and seldom or
never miss their aim
To prepare it the fish is boiled, then
beaten fiat with stones and finally dried
in the sun. 1t Is said that a soup can be
made with It little inferior TO that made
from the turtle.
The synapta, a peculiar genus Of the
holothuria, is a native OF the English chan
mel 1t is a beautiful creature, a cylin-
der, which seems as II It were made Of
rose-colored crystal, and passing through
this tube appear five narrow ribbons OF
white silk, which minghng together form
the head. The tissues are finer than tho
thinnest gauze, and yet this creature lives
on a sandy bottom, and Il Is gorged from
one end to the other with sand. The sharp
angles OF the grains can be seen with the
naked eye yet they do not injure the fine
membranes through which they pass
The synapta has also a peculiar mode
of meeting famine. Just as a general
turns out Of beleasuered city all the use
less mouths, so does this creature cut off
all the useless parts Of It's body. It effects
this by first forming a compression or
ring, which gradually tightens until al
the part of the cylinder which Is below II
drops off