1872 .] 
AMERICAN AGfpIC ULTURIST. 
34,7 
38©Y§ 4 (IHMS 9 (SiWllSo 
What is It?—Our Guessing-School. 
So many odd tilings come to me with the question 
“What is it?” that I think I must turn some of them 
over to the hoys and girls, and keep a sort of Gxiessing- 
Sc/iool. Guessing-school is not exactly the right name 
in the living state as Sea-Urchins. It is only those who 
live on the sea-coast that are likely to see living speci¬ 
mens of the Sea-Urchins, and they are very unlike any 
kind of animal you who live inlaud are likely to meet 
with. They belong to that division of the animal king¬ 
dom called Radiates. You know that most of the animals, 
including the fishes, reptiles, insects, etc., that you have 
ever seen, have a right-hand side and a left-hand side. 
Their parts are arranged in opposites. In the radiates 
SOMETHING FOR BOYS AND GIRLS TO PUZZLE OVER. 
for it—perhaps “ Intelligence Office ” would be better, 
because we do not wish the answers to be mere guesses, 
but bits of positive information. Still, as we have called 
it so, we will let it go as “ Guessing-School.” Now, 
here is an engraving of a “What is it?” brought the 
other day by one of my associates who has taken up his 
summer residence by the sea-shore. lie picked up this 
something on the beach, and brought it to find out what 
it was. As I was born and brought up alongside of salt¬ 
water, I knew it at once, but I thought it would be an in¬ 
teresting thing for you boys and girls to puzzle at—so 
here is the engraving. The drawing was made by one of 
“ the boys,” for you must know that we have boys who 
do drawing. The thing is shown of the real size. It is 
black, and very tough aud leathery; it shows no signs of 
life. When found upon the beach, it may be in the posi¬ 
tion here shown, or it may be the other side up—just as 
the waves happen to throw it. Now then, who will find 
out and tell us what it is? The one who gives the best 
account of it—I don’t care how it is found out—shall have 
the Agriculturist put down for his or her name, or to 
whomsoever he or she may' direct, for the year 1ST3. Send 
answers to The Doctor, 215 Broadway, New York—and 
to no one else. Time will be up October first. Now, 
then, go tq work for The Doctor. 
A Petrified 
Children, did you ever see a Petrified Squash ? I never 
did; in fact, I never heard of one until the other day, 
when there came by mail a specimen from a gentleman 
in Salado, Texas, of what he said was there called a 
“Petrified Squash.” I have mislaid the gentleman’s 
name, but you will thank him nevertheless for sending 
the specimen which allows me to give you the engraving 
of it, of the natural size, in figure 1. Perhaps before we 
go any further we had better see if wc all understand the 
meaning of the big word petrified. If I had you all be¬ 
fore me, I should ask those who knew what was meant 
by petrified to hold up their hands. All the hands would 
not go up I am sure ; so, for the benefit of those who do 
not know, we must explain a little. If you look into the 
Fig. 1.—PETRIFIED SQUASH. 
dictionary, you will find that the word petrify comes 
from the Greek word petra , a stone, and the Latin word 
facio , to make. So “to petrify ” is to make into stone, and 
a petrified thing is something made into stone. In some 
waters, which have much mineral matter dissolved in 
them, wood and other things are gradually changed into 
stone. So our “petrified squash” -would be a squash 
turned to stone, only it does not happen to be a squash— 
indeed, it is not a vegetable at all, but an animal which 
has ages ago been turned into stone, or petrified. An 
odd sort of animal you think—and so it is. It is the re¬ 
mains of an animal the relatives of which are well known 
they are arranged around a center, just as the spokes of 
a wheel are placed around a hub, as-you may have seen 
in dried specimens of what is called a Star-fish, which is 
like a five-pointed star. These Sea-Urchins have their 
parts arranged in five or some multiple of five, but they 
are more or less globular, or more like a flattened bis¬ 
cuit. They have an outer shell or covering which is not 
Fig. 2.— PIPER URCHIN. 
whole, but consists of plates joined together, and the 
mouth of the animal is on the flattened side at the bot¬ 
tom. The living Sea-Urchins have attached to their outer 
surface numerous spines, some kinds having them only 
a quarter of an inch long, while in others they arc three 
or four inches in length. In figure 2 is given an en¬ 
graving of a living Sea-Urchin, which is not much unlike 
the petrified one in figure 1. This living one is called the 
Piper Urchin, aud is found in the -waters of India. You will 
see that it has its spines attached. These spines are of 
substance somewhat like shell, and are of use in enabling 
the animal to move about on the bottom of the sea, and 
probably by their forbidding appearance they protect it 
from enemies. It was discovered by the missionaries 
in India that these spines make very good slate- 
pencils. Besides these spines, the Sea-Urchins 
have numerous feelers by which they are able to seize 
their food, and pass it from one to the other until it 
reaches the mouth. Most of the Sea-Urchins found upon 
our coast have many more spines, and shorter ones, than 
the one shown in figure 2. Indeed, the spines are so 
many and so close together as to hide the body of the 
animal itself, and it looks as bristly as a porcupine. So 
our “ Squash ” is after all a Sea-Urchin, which lived ages 
ago, when that part of Texas where it -was found was 
covered by the sea. In the wonderful changes which 
have since gone on, the animal lost its spines, but the 
form of its body was preserved by being gradually con¬ 
verted into stone. When you get older, you will all of 
you, boys and girls, I hope, read something of geology, 
which teaches the wonderful changes that have gone on 
to make this earth fit for our dwelling-place. Not only 
will that tell you of the wonderful things that happened 
in the far-off past, but those which are taking place now. 
Sea-Urchins aud hundreds of other animals arc living 
and dying now, and it may be that years and years to 
come some one will find a curious thing, and send it to 
some future Doctor, which will only be a petrified Sea- 
Urchin that is living on the coast at the time I am writing 
this for my boys and girls. Tite Doctor. 
Am • Amt and a CJrecEi Worm. 
Here is an account of a remarkable display of both 
strength and intelligence by an ant. It was sent us by 
Mr. Thos. S. Collier, of New London, Ct. He intended 
it for the older people’s department, but we think it will 
find more interested readers among the boys and girls. 
Watch the ants as you see them at work, and it may be 
you will see something equally strange and worth telling 
about. Mr. C. writes: 
Whilst standing under the arbor near my residence 
this morning, I was somewhat surprised and amused to 
- see a combat between an ant and a green worm or cater¬ 
pillar of some kind. The worm had either been migrat¬ 
ing or fallen from the arbor, and whilst in the path been 
attacked by the ant. 
For a while the contest was very fierce, the ant running 
along the body of its adversary, and stopping now and 
then to give a pinch or bite—at least, I concluded such 
was the case, as it seemed to gather itself together for 
some muscular work, and when it did so the worm 
writhed and twisted as if in great agony. 
This lasted some three or four minutes, when the worm 
grew exhausted and became quiet, and then the ant pro¬ 
ceeded to drag it along the walk. The worm gave two 
or three weak struggles after this, but made no strenuous 
resistance. After dragging the worm some three feet 
along a level space, the ant came to an acclivity of about 
an inch, and finding its strength insufficient to cope with 
the difficulty, it left the worm and proceeded toward its 
hole. When near the entrance it encountered another 
ant, and after the usual manner of interchanging commu¬ 
nications, by the use of feelers, it returned to the worm, 
and was shortly joined by the ant it had met. 
These two, by their united exertions, managed to drag 
the worm up the precipice, for such I suppose it was to 
them. Then they conveyed it through a patch of grass, 
winding in and out among the spears, as if treadin'g the 
intricate labyrinths of a dense forest. Beyond the grass 
they came to a clear space, and here the ant that had 
come to the assistance of the conqueror of the worm de¬ 
parted on its own business, and the conqueror was left 
to drag its prize along alone. This it did, until it reached 
the entrance of the nest, when it and the worm dis¬ 
appeared. 
Now I took the trouble to measure the worm and the 
ant. The worm was one inch long, with a circumference 
of three eighths of an inch ; and the ant was one quarter 
of an inch long, and belonged to the common brown 
species. The total space that the worm was carried was 
eleven feet, and one ant performed the greater part of 
the toil. TMb, however, is not as remarkable as the fact 
of the ant attacking the worm, and its sagacity in not 
leaving it until it was powerless to escape, and Us search 
for and obtaining help when unable to accomplish a task 
that came in its v r ay. 
Aunt Sue’s IPssKizle-lSSox. 
1. Die, saint. 
2. Tip our son. 
3. Not decent car. 
4. Pigs run, sir. 
5. Patient acid. 
ANAGRAMS. 
6. The Coal Co. 
7. Lo ! I hold Ike. 
8. Uncle is so lame. 
9. Lovers sue. 
10. Most rare net. 
Nodrap si het stom. sourilog dink fo genever. 
430. Illustrated Rebus.— The name of an Indian tribe. 
CROSS-WORD. 
My first is in mutton but not in veal. 
My next is in otter but not in seal. 
My third is in haven but not in port. 
My fourth is in mischief, but not in sport. 
My fifth is in mother but not in son. 
My sixth is in bayonet, not in gun. 
My seventh is in entry but not in ball. 
My eighth is in large but not in small. 
My whole is sure to come every year, 
When flowers begin to disappear. Dot. 
