The Key West citizen. [volume] (Key West, Fla.) 1879-current, 1926-02-24
Key Vests Curio Shop

coral, the fan, baby finger, staghorn,
propeller coral and brain coral, the
name of each being strikingiy sug-
gested by the form of each variety.
The Sponge Family
There are six kinds of sponges on
display, the sheepswool, velvet, yell
low, grass, glove and wire sponge, the
grades running in the order mention
ed. The exhibit shows the sponge in
its original, animal state when taken
alive from the sea- It is then expos
ed to air until life is entirely extinct.
after which it is soaked in water for
a few days. Then, with an ordinary
stick, it is beaten until all the animal
matter is eliminated, leaving only the
skeleton" or sponge, the use of
which IS so general and well known
throughout the world. Mr.. Thomp-
son has one freak sponge that looks
almost exactly like a chicken. To
this he has added a real chicken head
and chicken feet, so the hen is all
there but the cackle.
Queer Cutie Fish
Preserved in alcohol there is a COM
pete cutie fish, rarely found in these
waters, and its name was difficult to
determine In almost every canary
bird cage is a piece of bone from a
cutie fish for the bird to use in shar-
pening its beak. This fish abounds in
some foreign waters.
Sawfish bills, Mr.. Thompson has a
lot of them that were taken from
fish % to % feet in length.
Curious Creatures
In one jar is a specimen of the
salaris lobster, the only one of the
kind ever known in these waters.
There is also a preserved octopus
that was captured near Dry Tortugas.
They are small in this section, rarely
weighing over seven pounds; but in
some parts of the world they grow
to immense size and are terrors of the
sea. The sea urchin is shown as alive
and also in shell form: and there is
the sea spider with a thousand legs;
the saltwater centipede, whose myriad
creepers have sharp sting but are
not very poisonous; baby logger
head turtle that would have weighed
perhaps 400 pounds had he been per-
rniffnd RI erPov mn
Rare Ribbon Fish
Mr.. Thompson's specimen of the
ribbon fish is conceded to be one of
the prettiest ever captured any
where.
Crabs and crawfsh
The widely famous Key West craw-
fish and Florida lobster form an at
tractiye part of the curio COLLECTION;
there is also the crab with all his
kith and kin. On the shells of the
familiar old horseshoe crab some ar
fist has painted human eyes and fea-
lures and the result is most amusing.
The five-pointed star fish is represent
+, ed by a number of fine specimens, and
there are many other interesting
products of the sea of which mention
IS not made here.
Ocean Vegetation
Vegetation from Submarine gar
dens" as shown at Thompson's curio
includes sea fans of pleasing tints,
such as yellow, lavender and brilliant
purple. They are formed similar to
milady's folding fan, and composed OF
tough fibre that is plant and is mesh
ed like fine lace. The sea feather, or
sea plume, is luxurious in growth and
is most appropriately named. The
eoloring is about the same as the sea
fan, and it is also of tough fibre. 1t
is fine for decorative purposes.
Excellent Exhibit Free
This truly marvellous cur:o exhibit
has been created by Mr.. Thompson
at his own personal efforts and ex-
pense. and it is conceded to be one
of the most valuable and interesting
features of Key West. He throws it
open to the public cheerfully and
free. Many visitors have expressed
surprise that the city and county do
not aid him in maintaining this inn
portant enterprise that means so
much for Key West and this section
of the state.
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