The chronicle=news., 1913-07-01
EVOLUTION Of LIFE
Artist Depicts II a Striking New
Group.

oNseiais o. American Mvssvm a
Nstvrai History Highly Commend
Roy W. Aai~srs Exhibition a.
One sf the Best Thew.
New York.-A asw group ~ the
AinsFieaa Museum Of Natural History
recently s1anEsd BY Roy w. Nines
In hixhiy commended By tho nussuu
ofheisls. Who regard II - one Of tbs
best there. II shows animal lifs ou
tho wharf piles aud 10 intendod y
give . striking illustration Of tho pro
cess Of evolution from animal TO a.
most plant life. Mr.. Miner himself
thus describes the exhibit.
Tho group illustrates . balanced
association IL which tho struggle fos
existence between animals II not at-
parent. tho majority OF tho sprci~s
being piant.iiks and either incapable
Of loeomotion n the adult stage. os
In possessSoa OF Il TO . very limited
degree
"On tho broken pile in tho center
Of tho foreground. for example. grow
ins over tho muassls which have com
pietriy covered It's stump. arc hun
dr-ds Of delicate pink bydroids cius.
tered In feathery colonies. Here and
there among them pap forth the
transparent solitary poiyps OF tho
Whils armed sea an-mon.. Will" the
larger brown sea anrmons extends its
frinEecrovnsd disks on this and the
ncixhbor,nk piles. intsvspcrs~d with
coral red masses Of tho Yed.brard
sponge,
Although these ho~eriike forms
arr relatively stationary and Inactive
underneath their apparent peaceful.
ness and beauty the struggle for cx.
isicnc~ socs on a. Srlrniicssiy ~
among h.rec frc~awimminx xpceira
but with this difference. that their
prey IL Invisible tn our eyes Th"
waters In which they are immer~.t
arc s~srmink with myrinds of micro
scopic creatures. Will. every poiyp
with open sapacious mouth and cS
tended stinstne trniaeica. II but .
trap to cntankir and en.uif them. and
cv"ry sponkc-colony. with ifs million
pores. sucks In tho nutritious draft Of
organisms which arc tho ultimate
basis Of food for nil sea life.
In = word. sponkcs and poiyps. IN
spite Of their size and wide diversity
Of form. arc but little above the
simplest Of all animals. tho ono called
protosoa, and havc developed ~
typicaliy digestive organisms.
"Slncc their good II everywhere
present. organs Of locomotion arc not
nNe1eA to obtain h. Special seasss
aaa directive Intelligence. o. instiseta,
h9Se noe bssa Asosiea,y svesveA. siscs
ktlU>tvi,stA6 q tGsssp6osW 1fs.5s
eDss haad n hAaA with thae q jeeo
motor organs.
1T Ia true that certain polyps pos
scss somewhat aimlcss and imperfect
methods OF locomotion. such ns the
slow.crccping movement Of the sen
anemoncs and tho umbrella mode oi
propulsion peculiar to hydromcdusnc
and the true jelly flshcs-n beautiful
example Of which Is shown lazily
swimming near tho broken pile In
the group. But the polyps rs whole
may be considered rs mere sac.like
stomachs. this specialization In diges
tion being their most striking ad
vance. aside from their muiticeliuiai
structure. over their protozoan pro
genitorx. Yet there Ia a good reason
to believe that . polyplike condition
such as this is ancestral to the struc
ture Of all the higher and more com
plex groups Of the animal kingdom.
Associated with spongcs and
polyps upon the wharf piles nre many
other sedentary animals which. like
them. feed upon the micro orga nisms
OF the sea. At first glance these seem
to be Of hardly higher organization
than the polyps. but an examination
OF their structure at once shows them
to be members Of much higher groups
in the scale OF life.
These animals are so closely adapt.
cd to an attached mode OF life and
diet OF micro.organisms that the aver
age observer. unacquainted with their
af'lnities. would fail to recognize them
us being Included in the same great
phylum.
Finally. everything on the piles arc
various species Of the sea squirts or
| ascidians, singly and In colonies.
These small sac-like creatures. each
with a projecting pair Of tubes. or
''siphons," though apparently insignifl
cant. are in reality highly interesting
| from an evolutionary standpoint. One
species is represented as growing in
large yellow masses on tho upper part
Of one Of the piles. Some Of the in.
dividuals Of this species are marked
with dark star-like colonies of another
ascidian which grow upon their
surfaces. Here and there stand out
the conspicuous masses Of the pink
| sea pork" Hii 'u'MH