﻿JULY 
  19, 
  1922 
  proceedings: 
  biological 
  society 
  315 
  

  

  and 
  interesting 
  vegetation. 
  Japan 
  is 
  poor 
  in 
  grasses 
  except 
  bamboos; 
  these 
  

   however 
  occur 
  in 
  wide 
  variety. 
  The 
  speaker 
  showed 
  various 
  articles 
  made 
  

   of 
  wood, 
  cocoanut 
  shells, 
  etc. 
  

  

  637th 
  meeting 
  

  

  The 
  637th 
  meeting 
  was 
  held 
  at 
  the 
  Cosmos 
  Club 
  on 
  March 
  IS, 
  1922, 
  with 
  

   Pres. 
  Bailey 
  in 
  the 
  chair 
  and 
  62 
  persons 
  present. 
  

  

  Under 
  Short 
  notes, 
  Dr. 
  H. 
  M. 
  Smith 
  showed 
  a 
  photograph 
  of 
  an 
  extraordi- 
  

   nary 
  crustacean, 
  the 
  rock 
  lobster 
  or 
  salt 
  water 
  cra^^sh; 
  the 
  specimen 
  at 
  

   the 
  National 
  Museum 
  was 
  lately 
  received 
  from 
  Sarasova, 
  Fla. 
  It 
  is 
  36 
  

   inches 
  long, 
  including 
  the 
  antennae, 
  and 
  weighed 
  12 
  pounds. 
  

  

  He 
  also 
  showed 
  a 
  map 
  of 
  Iceland 
  from 
  the 
  Theatnim 
  Orbis 
  Tenarum, 
  pub- 
  

   lished 
  in 
  London 
  in 
  1606, 
  the 
  work 
  of 
  Abraham 
  Ortelius. 
  All 
  around 
  the 
  

   island 
  were 
  drawn 
  sea 
  monsters, 
  which 
  were 
  described 
  in 
  the 
  text, 
  which 
  

   the 
  speaker 
  read. 
  

  

  Dr. 
  HoLLiSTER 
  announced 
  the 
  arrival 
  at 
  the 
  Zoological 
  Park 
  of 
  a 
  giant 
  

   anteater 
  from 
  South 
  America, 
  and 
  described 
  its 
  habits. 
  

  

  Dr. 
  T. 
  S. 
  Palmer 
  spoke 
  of 
  several 
  birds 
  lately 
  introduced 
  into 
  the 
  United 
  

   States: 
  a 
  Chinese 
  dove 
  at 
  Los 
  Angeles, 
  and 
  at 
  Tacoma 
  the 
  oriental 
  Bamboo 
  

   Partridge, 
  of 
  which 
  300 
  were 
  brought 
  in 
  at 
  one 
  shipment. 
  

  

  Dr. 
  OberholsER 
  reported 
  that 
  at 
  Polksville, 
  in 
  southeastern 
  Iowa, 
  several 
  

   thousand 
  wild 
  ducks, 
  mostly 
  mallards, 
  have 
  remained 
  all 
  winter, 
  the 
  induce- 
  

   ment 
  being 
  regular 
  feeding 
  with 
  corn. 
  They 
  have 
  become 
  quite 
  tame. 
  The 
  

   starling, 
  he 
  added, 
  has 
  been 
  imported 
  from 
  Asia 
  into 
  Vancouver 
  Island, 
  and 
  

   is 
  spreading. 
  

  

  Mr. 
  Hitchcock 
  spoke 
  on 
  the 
  membership 
  campaign 
  now 
  in 
  progress. 
  

  

  The 
  first 
  paper 
  of 
  the 
  evening 
  was 
  read 
  by 
  Dr. 
  Paul 
  Bartsch, 
  on 
  American 
  

   shipworms. 
  

  

  The 
  shipworm 
  is 
  not 
  a 
  worm 
  at 
  all, 
  but 
  a 
  mollusk, 
  related 
  to 
  the 
  oyster 
  and 
  

   clam. 
  The 
  speaker 
  gave 
  an 
  account 
  of 
  the 
  structure 
  and 
  life 
  history 
  of 
  these 
  

   animals, 
  using 
  as 
  his 
  example 
  Gould's 
  Ship-worm, 
  the 
  life 
  history 
  of 
  which 
  was 
  

   almost 
  completely 
  worked 
  out 
  by 
  Sigerfoos 
  in 
  1908 
  at 
  the 
  U. 
  S. 
  Bureau 
  of 
  

   Fisheries 
  Station 
  at 
  Beaufort, 
  N. 
  C. 
  

  

  There 
  are 
  two 
  types 
  of 
  shipworms 
  in 
  America: 
  one 
  which 
  produces 
  living 
  

   young, 
  and 
  the 
  other 
  which 
  produces 
  eggs. 
  Gould's 
  shipworm 
  is 
  of 
  the 
  lat- 
  

   ter 
  type. 
  When 
  the 
  eggs 
  hatch, 
  a 
  free-swimming 
  larva 
  is 
  produced; 
  this 
  

   leads 
  a 
  pelagic 
  existence 
  for 
  a 
  time, 
  the 
  length 
  of 
  which 
  had 
  not 
  been 
  deter- 
  

   mined, 
  and 
  then 
  settles 
  down 
  on 
  some 
  piece 
  of 
  wood 
  and 
  begins 
  digging 
  a 
  

   home 
  for 
  itself. 
  The 
  first 
  tiny 
  puncture 
  is 
  just 
  large 
  enough 
  to 
  admit 
  the 
  

   minute 
  organism, 
  but 
  is 
  widened 
  and 
  deepened 
  as 
  the 
  animal 
  grows. 
  

   Some 
  shipworms 
  grow 
  to 
  be 
  four 
  feet 
  or 
  more 
  in 
  length, 
  and 
  as 
  thick 
  as 
  a 
  

   man's 
  thumb. 
  After 
  the 
  burrow 
  is 
  complete, 
  the 
  end 
  is 
  sealed 
  up 
  with 
  a 
  

   calcareous 
  lining. 
  In 
  fact 
  the 
  whole 
  burrow 
  has 
  been 
  beautifully 
  glazed 
  

   after 
  its 
  excavation. 
  The 
  mollusk 
  has 
  now 
  stopped 
  growing, 
  and 
  turns 
  its 
  

   attention 
  to 
  feeding 
  and 
  reproducing. 
  A 
  single 
  specimen 
  can 
  produce 
  from 
  

   half 
  a 
  million 
  to 
  three 
  million 
  offspring. 
  

  

  The 
  food 
  of 
  these 
  animals 
  consists, 
  not 
  of 
  wood 
  as 
  generally 
  supposed, 
  but 
  

   of 
  plankton, 
  which 
  is 
  strained 
  from 
  the 
  water 
  by 
  the 
  gills, 
  and 
  carried 
  by 
  

   ciliary 
  action 
  to 
  the 
  mouth. 
  

  

  Shipworms 
  are 
  very 
  destructive. 
  The 
  most 
  conspicuous 
  loss 
  suffered 
  in 
  

  

  