. The Conchologists' exchange. Mollusks. 26 THE NAUTILUS. remarkable as the periodic metamorphoses of certain species belong- ing to this order. Near the water's edge, when the tide is low, many other interesting creatures may be seen, including the sea anemones with their parti-colored crowns of tentacles; and pretty plant-like forms (Corallines) whose chief representative on the New Jersey coast is the so-called fox or squirrel-tail Sertu- laria argentea Johnson. To most persons this ap- pears to be an ordinary sea plant, but the careful stu- dent knows that in each of the tiny cells adornin
. The Conchologists' exchange. Mollusks. 26 THE NAUTILUS. remarkable as the periodic metamorphoses of certain species belong- ing to this order. Near the water's edge, when the tide is low, many other interesting creatures may be seen, including the sea anemones with their parti-colored crowns of tentacles; and pretty plant-like forms (Corallines) whose chief representative on the New Jersey coast is the so-called fox or squirrel-tail Sertu- laria argentea Johnson. To most persons this ap- pears to be an ordinary sea plant, but the careful stu- dent knows that in each of the tiny cells adorning the undried specimen, dwells one of the little architects and builders of the whole graceful structure. None of these creatures, however, are more worthy of observation or study than are the native mol- lusks, reference to which is the chief purpose of this article. These dwell on the entire coast in count- less numbers, but they are seldom exposed in quantity except by southeastern storms or gales which, striking the beach breast on, often tear up and carry Fuigur canaiicuiata. large masses of sand with their unfortunate occupants beyond the reach of succeeding tides. It is not unusual for hundreds of tons of mollusks to be thus forced from their homes and left to die of starvation and exposure. Quite a number of the native species are edible. The first of these in the order of demand is, of course, the oyster, Ostrea virginica; next, the hard shell clam, Venus mercenaria; third, that precious favorite of all New York aldermen, the soft shell clam, Mya aren- aria. He who has not eaten a dish of these on Coney Island beach. Please note that these images are extracted from scanned page images that may have been digitally enhanced for readability - coloration and appearance of these illustrations may not perfectly resemble the original Averell, William D. Philadelphia, Wm. D. Averell
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Keywords: ., bookcentury1800, bookdecade1880, booksubjectmollusks, bookyear188
