NATURAL HISTORY OF THE STAR-FISH. 
205 
peculiar method has been accredited to the star-fish by many, namely, that of clinging 
together in great clusters and rolling along the bottom with the tide. 
The tradition is that large numbers of stars cling together to form a compact 
ball from 1 to 3 feet or more in diameter, which is rolled along the bottom by the tide 
until, striking an oyster-bed, the ball goes to pieces and the stars begin work at once. 
It is difficult to find an actual eye-witness of this phenomenon, though Ernest Inger- 
soll tells of an old oysterman, “Captain Eaton, of Hew Haven, who said that he and 
his brother once raked up the end of a cylindrical roll of star-fishes clinging tightly 
together, which they hauled. into their boat until it would contain no more, when they 
had to break the roll or ‘string,’ as he called it, which was a foot or more in diameter.” 
The “string” was composed only of star-fishes. I have never observed anything to 
confirm in the slightest degree the truth of these stories, though I have seen balls of 
star-fish clinging to each other. Upon examination it was evident that the stars 
were all endeavoring to devour some animal held in their midst. 
For the purpose of testing the ability of star-fish to creep over soft surfaces, 
vaseline was smeared thickly on a vertical glass plate and on the under side of a 
horizontal glass plate. These plates were submerged in the aquarium with the star- 
fish, which measured 2 or 3 inches from tip to tip. The animals were observed to 
crawl over both these surfaces with no apparent difficulty. Paraffin was used in the 
same way and with the same result. It would appear, therefore, that submerged 
surfaces, though ever so soft or slippery, would not be effective barriers against the 
invasion of stars. They will not crawl out of the water, nor even protrude an arm 
above the surface, but will move along over a surface covered with a very thin layer of 
water, even if it is not deep enough to cover the whole body. They are perfectly 
secure, therefore, in a dish of water as shallow as a soup plate, so long as the water 
does not flow over the edge; but if placed in an aquarium which is constantly over- 
flowing, they will frequently crawl over the edge and down the outside. Ho barrier, 
therefore, over which even a thin layer of water is flowing would be effective. 
IV. To or from idiot distance may star-fish migrate? 
This is a problem which has a decidedly practical bearing, but we have as yet very 
little accurate data for its solution. I have been told by several oystermen that stars 
sometimes suddenly appear in great numbers upon oyster-beds, and move over them 
at the rate of -J mile per day, more or less. It is generally understood, also, that 
there is some sort of a seasonal migration, especially noticeable in spring and fall, but 
the character and extent of this migration, if it really occurs, is unknown. 
If a star crawled constantly in one direction at the rate of G inches per minute, 
which is a fair rate for a medium-sized one, it would travel about 4 miles in a month. 
At this rate star-fish could go from one end of the bay to the other in the course of the 
summer. Hut tnere is no good evidence that they take such extended excursions. 
The fact that they can be found all the year round in the upper part of the bay, and 
on the oyster-beds, shows that there is no wholesale migration to great distances. 
There are some other facts which seem to indicate that the wanderings of these 
animals are rather limited in extent. Certain kinds of star-fish which are common in 
one part of the bay are not found, or are rare, in other parts. The purple star and 
“maroon star” do not migrate into the upper half of the bay, although the purple 
star, at least, might live in these waters, as I have found by keeping them in confine- 
