The Savannah morning news., 1902-03-21
RICH IN cURIoSITIEs.
QUEER LIFE FOUND IN THE MEDI-
TERRANEAN SEA.

Haunt of the Octopus Family
Traits of sponGes-Quaint Stories
Are Told by Nenpolitnn Fishermen
of Giant CuttIefsh md other Mon
sters of the Sea.
Naples Letter, Chicago Record Herald.
The Bay of Naples. like the city, is
remarkable for its curious inhabitants.
The fishermen draw their nets every
morning at a landing near the hotels
and it is one of the most interesting
sights to be seen here, because they
usually bring in forms of life which are
unknown to other parts of the world.
Nobody seems to be able to explain
why this particular arm of the Med
iterranean should be inhabited by
freaks. There is nothing peculiar about
the water except it is very salty, but
the bottom of the bay and the rocks
which inclose it are covered with
growths, both animate and inanimate,
that are not found elsewhere. and
among the microscopic organisms are
several which have not yet been classi-
fed.
There is a very narrow line between
plant and animal life in this bay.
Scientists here make the division be-
tween the plants which live on gases
and salts, and the animals which sub
sist upon vegetables and upon each
other. Corals, anemones. sponges and
similar forms oil growth are classed
as animals. They are rooted like
plants, but, while plant lives an easy
and indolent existence upon the air,
water. sunlight and the mineral salts
that soak into it, rooted animals, like
sponges, for instance. have to earn
their living like the rest of us. They
obtain their food by manual labor,
causing currents of water to pass
through their pores. This current is
caused by vibrating minute hairs and
other muscular eXertion, and, as it
passes through the pores, the water is
filtered of all the nutritious particles it
contains. 1t requires just as much
and sometimes a little more exertion
to pass the water through the animal
than to run the animal through the
water.
Although the careers which nature
has marked out for corals. sponges,
oysters, barnacles and other fixed
crustaceans. does not require the ex-
ercise of much intelligence, ichthyolo-
gists still insist that they have brains
and reasoning powers as we'll as mus
cles and digestive organs: they are
gifted with the sense of self preserva-
ton. with a consciousness of hunger
and satisfaction, and realize what is
going on around them They prefer
security to great animation and greater
danger.
Though living sponge is fixed and
apparently motiCnless. its children are
free to go out into the world and
select their own field of enjoyment
and labor. The young sponge varies
in size from a small to large pin
head and swims freely by means of
little waving hairs that grow under
its surface, each one of which is an
oar. When it selects its permanent
home it becomes attached to a rock
apd then reaches out its hairy arms
in all directions to gather the solid
food upon which it thrives and grows
until fisherman comes along and
rudely tears it loose from it's anchor
age. At the junction of the tubes
which you see in a sponge it's vital
organs were once situated, little sacks
of microscopic size which grew with
the sponge and received and digested
the nourishment that was brought to
it. This portion of a sponge is killed
when ii is captured and removed by
repeated washings.
Tine sponge of commerce is obtained
by diving and dredging and scraping
the rocks with long harpoon. The
finest quality is the Levantine. which
is found on the eastern Adriatic and
Mediterranean shores. and the great
est market is Trieste. Mutilation does
not kill a live sponge unless the vital
part is injured. BY a sharp knife or
azor a sponge can be separated into
reveral PARTICLES and although it suf-
fers pain it will recover and grow as
long as it is allowed to remain in it's
native anchorage.
Coral is generally considered
plant, but it is actually a shell of