Daily Kennebec journal. [microfilm reel] (Augusta, Me.) 1870-1975, 1908-03-02
VITALITY OF ANIMALS.
Remarkable Persistence of Life Under
the Most Adverse Conditions.

A very large amount of attraction Tor
| the naturalist lies in the topic OF inc per
sietence 81 life under conditions ana CIR
crln. stances calculated according TO or
binary computation IL end vitality and 10
| cXtinguish all tn" activities of the or
%1niem.
Life, in fact, is capable now ard then
| of showing Il marvellous power IF resist
! ing stress and strain. Such as We are app
| to regard @S essentially destructive 70 KS
fires. It is not necessary here to dwell a.
ON the case which Will most reahi'y occur
| tn readers a.; apparently illustrative o;
| He foregoing remarks: / refer Ia the re-
! ruriin2 reports of live frogs and tnadS
| being found in solid rocks. According 1c
the popular narratives, th"s. anphihianS
| have been inclos"d for geological cons IN
the strata in which they ar alleged II
| have been found cntCmbcd. We nave
| thus. the paradox that some Of these liv-
ing animals must be much older than the
! oldest known fossil representatives of
the class. which is absurd
| The fact is that frogs ana toadS IN the
young state creep through crevices into
| rock recesses. They can subsist on very
little food. and ere highly tenacious OF
life. The apparently solid rock is split
| IN 'y the orarryn:en, and the live ann
rhihian is accordingly believed to have
lived in the rock substance for untold
ages.
For this belief there is no warrant
whatever. Buckland long ago showed
| that frogs ard toads placed three feet
cut out in blocks of stone and sealed up,
were mostly dead and decayed at the end
of the second year.
II cannot bt. doubted that if these ami
mails really possessed the miraculous
powers Of resisting conditions SO risor-
Gus as are implied in TIE case Of the toad
in the rock they would certainly have
been found alive and furnishing by
n relatively comfortable burial in his
garden. Leaving the case of the frogs
as unworthy of further criticism, we may
none the less find in other ranks of the
animal world illustrations If Il Eertina-
ciors holding on to life under conditions
that would seem to render Tie cont.nu-
ance Of vitality impossible.
Long ago. for example. Sir Richard
Owen and DR. W; j. Carpenter repeated
experiments on the common wheel ami
ma!cules." or rotifers. that are found in
fresh water and in other situations. 4
favorite hunting ground being 'h. debris
OF the rain-washed a"ttcra on house
roofs. The older naturalislS were aware
that these animalcules could be desiccat-
ed until thcir bodies became mere specks
of dried dast. so to speak.
In this ,nummifind condition they could
be kept for months. Or even years; yet
upOn the addition Of water they We're re-
viv"d, and at cnce resumed the move
MentS characteristic Of their Kind. No
doubt exists regarding the rcvivificati)n
of the Observation-Disclosures. and the incl
dent is all the moro notable for the rea-
son THAI the rotifoIs are by no means
Of low organization
The winter sic"p of many animals
when all their bodily processes are slow
Oh DOWN. seems to pave the way rs n
kind Of halfway stage for the considera-
ton of the o"olution Of rhe bait of per-
sist"ntlv holding on to life under more
vigorous states.
In the philosophical Transactions" of
mary years ago there will be found an
account of wondrOrS vitality On the part
Of certain snails. Mr.. StuClicy Simon. n
Dublin merchant. was routing out col
loctiCn of fossils AMI shells which lad
been tecHeathed to his father.
Fifteen wears after his fathers death
his parent having had the collection for
many years. he gave his child some Of
tho snail shells Ia play with The boy
placed th"m in n pot Of water. Next day
to Mr.. Slmon's establishment. liz" snails
had issued from the shells.
Tie child. who was too NoUn-. to admit
OF any doubt being cntertain-d on tn.
point said the shells werc those given
To him by his father on the previous day
He had a few mere, indeed. of the shells
and these h." brought. Wien put into
water ono of them showed its head and
body after IN hour and Il halls INNER
sio,.-NcW York American.