The San Juan islander. [volume] (Friday Harbor, Wash.) 1898-1914, 1912-09-27
FREAKS OF MARINE LIFE.
1arnacIes May Serve Some Purpose,
but It Is Not Apparent.

| but it Is Not Apparent.
,Barnacles are among the curious
forms of marine life. So far as is
known, they perform no important
Office, either constructive or de-
structiye, in the economy Of ma
ture. They serve to no appreciable
extent as food for the creatures Of
the depths; neither do they operate
as a check upon other forms of ma
rine life that might become re-
,dundant.
Strangely enough, barnacles are
assigned by the naturalists to the
same great subdivision Of the ami
NAL world which includes insects
the anthropoda, which means joint
footed. Barnacles belong to that
class of crustaceans that embraces
Holsters and crabs and constitutes
the order of cirripedia, term that
means "curled feet
Barnacles are Matched from eggs.
The young in no way resemble the
adults. Upon emerging from the
eggs the young barnacles show
themselves as free swimming little
creatures with one eye, six legs and
one shell. The young barnacle un-
dergoes the operation Of Noting
several times and finally appears
with two eyes, twelve legs and two
shells. At this state it roves no
longer, but attaches itself to some
convenient object by means of its
antennae. secreting cement
whereby it CLUES itself quite fast.
Then it undergoes a metamorpho-
sis that completely changes its ap-
pearance. 1t loses it's bivalve shell
and it's eyes and acquires its char
acteristic cirripeds or curled feath-
cry legs, and it takes on an entirely
new shell.
Three orders of barnacles exist.
Members of one order are attached
by the shell directly to rocks, tim
bers or other convenient objects.
Those of another order are attached
to floating objects by long stalk,
and the barnacles of the third order
are parasitic upon crabs and other
marine animals. When extended
from the shell the curled, feathery
appendages are in constant motion,
and they create currents in the
water that serve to convey to the
curious little creatures their food,
consisting of many species Of mi
mute forms of life Astounding in the
sea.
What are commonly known as
"sea acorns" are nothing more than
barnacles Of the genus balanus.
There exists number of different
varieties Of these, showing shells Of
a. white, greenish white, pink or
purplish color These barnacles at
tach themselves to rocks, shellfsh,
the piling of piers and sometimes
even to whales. The base Of the
shell is glued firmly to the support
ing object, there being no stem.
Ship barnacles are true wander
ers of the deep, the same species
frequently being found upon the
hulls of vessels coming from the
most remote and widely separated
regions. They present a very odd
appearance, for the shell is at
tached to the end of a flexible stalk,
which varies in length from an inch
in some species to twelve inches in
others. Generally speaking, the
shell of the ship barnacle is of a
white or blush white hue, and the
stalk is brown or slate colored.-
Harper's.t
Schliemann's Luck.
It is told of Schiemann, the ex-
humer of buried cities of the an
cient world, that he was pursued by
i'll luck in his earlier undertakings.
Mentioning the fact to friend, the
latter asked Linn which leg and arm
he first inserted in trousers and
coat. Schliemann said he habitually
inserted his right. s'That is the
cause of your misfortunes," said his
friend. "You have offended the left
hand fairies, and they take out their
vengeance on you. Reverse your
habit and see." "And," said Schlie-
mann in telling the incidents in his
later and prosperous wears. "you see