Clarke courier. [volume] (Berryville, Va.) 1869-1997, 1905-03-01
NATURE A KIND MOTHER.
Furious Methods by which She Mends
Animal Injuries.

Animal Injuries.
How many weak and timid creatures
there are in the world. with neither
teeth and claws Tor their protection.
armor for their defense nor speed with
which 10 escape their enemies. One
can hardly understand why they have
not all been killed and eaten up long
ago. Nature is. however. kinder To
these poor animals than she seems. for
II she has left them defenSeless against
attack she has given them marvel
Gus power of recovery from injuries.
When tiny lizard has to scamper
tor his life In search of n crack i'm the
rock he often has so close a call" that
his pursuer snaps OF his tail just as
he wiskS into safety. 4 loss like this
would Kill most larger animals. but
not the little lizard. He simply waits
round quietly until new tail grows
and then is as well OF as before. ex-
ceptthat the new tail has n flexible rod
OF cartilage where the old one had n
backbone
IL an earthworm happens 10 be re-
firing 10 his hole when robin is out
looking FOR breakfast there is apt TO
be a lively tug OF war between the
eater and the breakfast. Not infre-
qucntly the bird gets the tail end of
the worm. while the other half crawIs
away into safety. Not even lizard
could survive such treatment as this.
but the earthworm Is I'm ability to re
cover from injuries almost as much
superior 10 the lizard rs the lizard is 10
Us He grows n now half body TO re-
place the one which has been devoured
and seems TO mind his loss no more
than a boy minds having his hair cut.
There are besides some snail-like
water worms which quite undo the
carthworm i'm bearing up against mis-
fortune. II one OF these chances to lose
his entire head. I'm a week or so. some
times IN only four or five days. he
grows a new one, brain. eyes and all.
and is as well Of rs ever. Even IL n
hungry flSh gets two bites at him. SO
that ne loses both head and tail. the
warm can patch himself out with new
members and go about his business as
before. They have even been known
10 get divided into two pieces about
equal in size and each piece grow
new half body, so that there were two
entire worms in place OF one.
After this il will easily be guessed
that II the head end of the worm hap
pens 10 be split halfway down he will
grow two new sides and become Y
shaped with two heads. or IL the tail
end is split new sides grow and n two
tailed worm Is made. Sometimes one
or two new heads develop close behind
the old one in the angle OF the y. In
deed the little creature seems to have
sort Of mania for making new heads
and tails wherever he finds chance.
II, therefore, the worm after receiving
several wounds manages TO escape
with his life. from the cuts which hap
pen 10 open forward little heads grow
out and from those opening backward
little tails, no doubt greatly to his en-
barrassment.
But what OF the cut OF heads and
tailsf DO they make new bodies and
become whole animals again? Not usu-
ally. The severed head seems to be-
come confused. so that IL does not
know what 10 do. II IL lives II is lost
apt TO produce another head like elf
and change into two heads placed cck
TO neck so that they look in ~. lite
directions. SO, too. the severed tail,
equally foolish. doubles itself and be-
comes two useless tails growing end to
end
But isn't this really quite impossi-
BILE? \ head or a tail or even half
body cannot get food. If il cannot eat,
1t cannot grow. and that is all there is
about ii. Well. 1t is true that frag-
ment cannot eat But still il can make
the new part out OF its own tissue. SO
the animal keeps getting smaller MS it
becomes more nearly complete until
when the new part is finished the
whole body may be no more than the
tenth part Of its proper size The re-
constructed animals are therefore fore
ed 10 begin life over again like young
worms. In time. however. they grow
up TO full size. When a head end makes
n new head instead of n tail or a tail
makes new tail instead of a head the
little creatures must necessarily waste
away and die.-St Nicholas.
Some Animal Oddities