Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1902-07-26
SLAIN BY MILLIONS
THE OYSTERS MOST DEsTRUc-
TIVE ENEMY Is THE STAR FISH.
And Then Menhaden in Turn Kill
Young Star Fish in Enormous
Numbers.
From the Brooklyn Eagle.


This season of the year. when oystermen
have completed planting their seed for next
seasons market. much concern is manifest
ed in relation to star fish. the dreaded enc
my OF the oystermen. and one which de-
stroys millions OF young bivalyes every
year. To persons unacquainted with the
oyster industry the star fish is merely an
object OF curiosity. BY the oystermen,
however the odd-looklng sea denizen, with
Its numerous suckers" IS regarded with
fear, for there is no living enemy OF the
oyster that is so destructive and ruinous
Constant watching is necessary on the
part or the planters that the star FISH do not
get foothold on the beds, particularly
when seed is young and when there issany
sign OF them In bays constant dredging Is
necessary to save the bivaives. Frequently
the oystermen protect the beds from the
raVages OF the stars by planting a wide
border of mussels about the beds as the
star nsh are fond OF musses and win not
pass over them to reach the oysters hut
eat their way through. While thus engaged
the oystermen get chance TO dredgs them
up pefore they reach the beds In various
sections OF the Great South bay and other
parts or the Atlantic coast a number of
natural oyster beds have disapDsarad I'm
recent years, as result, ii is believed Of
the raNages OF the star fish. Not only do
oysters and mussels fall a prey To the star
fish. but clans as well The clam starts n
throw its set about the same time as the
star fish. and the latter show a fixing Tor
old.
They Eat CLANS, Too.
The stars have a wonderful devastating
capacity among clans Experiments made
by Prof Mead showed that in a week one
star devoured more than fifty CLAIMS Ar
this rate 800 stars would devour 25,OOO CLANS
in a week
The means of locomotion which the star
fish employ, and the only one they have
been provided with. is by means OF the
suckers that protrude from the burrows
on the under side Of the arms Small stars
half an inch or less I'm length, frequently
navigate, yentral side uppermost with
their suckers extending toward the surface
or the water. The buoyancy of the water
and the great number of suckers" enable
the stars to crawl over the softest silt and
the smoothest hard surface with ease. while
the suppleness OF the body enables Il 10
get through incredibly small crevices. Be
sides the regular mode OF locomotion, it is
stated by many baymen that the stars have
peculiar method Of travelling by clinging
together In clusters and rolling along the
bay bottom with the tide A tradition eN-
lists that hundreds OF the stars cling to-
gether sometimes and form a compact ball
several feet in diameter which floats along
the bottom with the tide until IL strikes an
oyster bed. then il goes TO pieces and the
stars begin their work OF devastation at
once.
The principal variety of bivalves upon
which star fish prey are mollusks protected
by hard shells, sea snails. mussels. quahogs
and oysters The question To how the
star fish get at the meat or the molusks
has caused considerable conjecture, especial
ly concerning the clam and oyster. IL is
said that the star catches the bivalves nap
ping, as IL were. and gets its arm into the
gaping shell before It can be closed Then
fight for supremacy ensues. Sometimes
the clans and oysters are victors In the
struggle and in such cases the star fish
retreats minus an arm; but generally the
oyster or the clam succumbs to the enemy.
since either cannot survive long with It's
shell open, and the star fish devours Its
prey at leisure.
Opening the Shells.
Other theories are that the star secretes
an acid that forces the shell fish to open,
and again II was asserted that a hole was
bored into the shell. Experiments dis
closed that none of these theories was cor
rect The actual method remained a mys-
terry until a German scientist found that
the star fish so covered It's victim that the
suckers on the under side of the arms We're
distributed part TO one valve. part to an
other and the remainder to some surround
ing object. The suckers are very numerous
and stick fast. BY attaching them To the
opening In the smell ana a ltnusnCN 10
straighten arms results in a contant pun
on the shells in opposite directions, which,
If strong enough, opens the shells. The
mollusks can overcome strong pull FOR a
short time, but the star fish is a tena cious
creature. and soon has its prey weakened
so that the oyster or clam presently gapes
open. 1t has been disclosed by experiment
that the star fish can exert pull OF over
1000 grammes, and that a force Of gob
grammes will open a good-sized oyster or
clam If continued for half an hour.
Frequently more than one star attacks an
oyster, and when opened others share in
the feast. 1t is the young oysters that are
in greatest danger from rayages Of the star
fish. and many thousand dollars worth
have just been spread by planters, constant
watch is now being kept to prevent the seed
from being killed by the stars. oysters
from two to three years old are seldom mo-
Tested by the star fish.
Removing the Stars.
The removal Of star fish from the oyster
beds is a novel yet simple process A mop
or tangie as It is called, is the weapon used.
The tangle consists o. number OF knots
made of cotton waste or similar material
attached to a heavy wood or iron pole. By
dragging these mops over the oyster beds
the stars become entangled and are drawn
up with the mOps. The mops are usually
detached from the iron bar and thrown
with the stars in tub of hot water. Other
mops are attached to the poles and thrown
overheard. After the stars are killed tnty
can be more easily picked off the mops than
when alive.
There is one enemy of the star fish which
helps the oystermen considerably in exter-
mination. They are the menhaden, which
feed exclusively on the minute organisms
which swim or float free In the water. The
menhaden swims with it's mouth open and
travels In schools. They attack the star
fish larvae during the season when they are
swimming at the surface and destroy them
by thousands of millions.
The star fish has great regeneratiye pow
ers. IL number of arms are pulled on fits
body the portions dislodged become produce
tive and create anew. the regeneration pow
er being stronger in the arms than in the
dish or main part Of the body.