The Savannah morning news. (Savannah, Ga.) 1900-current, 1902-07-13

are growing finely now in our coun-
try. That was a real Arabian Nights
play trip that has been worth lots and
lots of money to the county.
Some charming toys are those that
everybody may see in the many wealth
er observing stations of the govern
ment. There are busy little windmills.
turning like anything, and funny little
round disks on arms that dance all the
time, and queer spiral glass tubes that
move lead pencils over charts. A.
weather observatory would be the very
place of all that any child would Sc
lect If it could have its way for play
room. There are so many funny in
struments, and scores on scores OF
queer-colored flags, and little gaudy-
colored lanterns, that ones heart quite
fills with a desire to play with them.
Yet even when one is looking at them
turn and Dance those tempting toys
may be telling of terrible storm that
is killing folk and blowing houses down
far away. The little flags and lanterns,
when hoisted, may seem anything but
merry toys to the sailor offshore who
sees them through his glass, or to the
lonely voyager over open country roads.
For some of them spell hurricane, and
others talk of hail and rain, and 9TH
ers talk of deadly cyclones, and warn
ali human kind to stay snug in shell
ter
There was learned old man in
Woods Hole in Massachusetts, the 9TH
er day, who had great fun with star
fish in little saucers and bright flash
ing glass tanks. Woods Hole is the
place where the United States govern
ment studies fish. This man went out
and caught a lot of the beautiful, gau-
dy things that are called starfish be-
cause they look so much like stars.
Children who have seen them and play
ed with them and admired them will
find it hard to believe that they are
really first cousins to the terrible and
lcathsome devil fish and octopus, as
they are.
This man played lots of enjoyable
games with the stars. He put some of
them into shallow vessels and found
that they had queer habits. For in
stance. a starfish would try to crawl
over the side of the dish, but as soon
as he found that he would have to lift
his arms out of the water to do 1t he
would slide right back. But If he could
get just enough water to keep his arms
covered. he would crawl away rapidly,
quite regardless of the fact that all the
rest of his body was sticking out high
and dry.
The man also got many eggs of the
star and put them into tiny trays full
OF salt water and Matched them out.
Gloriously beautiful little things they
were, purple and crimson and scarlet
and yellow. each one as tiny as a PIN
head, yet each one a perfect five-arm-
ed star. And as soon as each was
Matched it would hurtle right to the
bottom and "set" on a piece of green
WEED. where it shone like a flashing
gem.
Now this was truly pleasant play.
But 1t was profitable, too. For the star
fish is a terrible enemy of the oyster
and the clam. He will seize the luck
less shellfish with his arms and fold
his stomach entirely around the mol
llsc. Then he will lie still, just keeping
up steady pull with his arms until
the poor oyster or clam is entirely tired
out and opens its shell, when the star
fish swallows 1t at once. Small wonder
is 1t that the shellfish cannot keep It's
shell closed when the starfish tackles