THE WEST SHORE.
April, 1879.
thk num.
Mr - HABITS AM. AMHM'IATKH.
The teredo, or it i mora oommunly oallixl,
the ship-worm, ni formerly supposed to lie
native of Uie tropical Mu noil to have been
t n. .1 by ahipa into the colder weteri, m it ia
now found along tho northern ooaaU of Karom
and America, ami ia in many places . l in!
destructive. Hut thia belief haa been recently
proved to lie erroneous. In the course of aome
aioavationa made at llelfut, the trunka of a
tree, entirely riddled liy the tenxlo, waa found
twelve feet lielow the aurface, in strata of an
aje lung irevioua to the daya of navigation,
anil foaall U, onue the lioiue of the teredo,
have I found in many other lo alitiea, at
ixinaidrralde ileitha ; facta which prove that the
leradu haa inhabited from a remote i the
watera of the teniierate tone. The moat fam
liar '. m ia the Imde namtii, which haa al
waya heen met w ith in the llay of San Fran-
, I. 11
The teredo haa of late yoara lieen the aubject
nf much atudy by anine naturaliita, and much
thought haa been eiiended ami many eijieri
menla made in the attempt to doviae mtuuia of
prutoclion from ita ravagea. In watera where
thia peat atMiunda, a anlid stick of tinilier, un -protected,
becomes completely honeycombed in
year or two and may lie broken by the alight
aat ahook.
At Norfolk Navy Yanl, a piece of wood,
which had lieen immeraed in sea-water only
eight daya, waa ienelratd by a tereilo to tho
depth of one eighth of an inch. They are an
email when they enter the wood aa to lie almoat
inviaihle to the naked eye. The worm, aa it
may be called for convenience, enters at right
angles to the grain until fairly into the wood,
end e!tcrwanU eicavatoa in a direction parallel
with the Hbere, diverging only Ui avoid aome
ohetru.'tioo in lU path When full grown they
meaaure from one to two and a half feet in
length It makeaita home in the wood and do
rtvea IU food entirely from the water. Aa it
grows it constantly citends Ita coll or gallery,
but avoids a trualon into the lodging of an'
other
The teiedns method of iwrforal haa been
a matter ol dispute, but late researches have
bon thai its eicevatnilli are . nplished by
means of ,rttel roUry motion imiaild Ui ita
bivalve ahell Thia shell 1. attached to or forma
Mfj of the larger or aupenor extremity id the
Wredii, which doea all the Imring. Through
the inlenor rttrrmity ln,, it cmaUulIt pn.
irtided nil . the era, the U redo aucka up and
ctrrulaUse through iU system, by mean, ( ,y.
pi. 1, hw a oouaiaiil current ol watai, 0011
taming the inluaoria upon which it live It ia
hardly pmlm U. apply the ten,,. head and
Ull U. a molluak In. h l.rea at one oud and
feed, at the other. A itiuecular organ, . .11., I by
netuieli.l. ,t. loot. ,, U ,,h ,1 hold. ,u, it
Hrwly against the head f ,u gallery, while sar
in. " t" l" li"i between the valvaa of the
hell al that end of th, teredo, whkn ,,,,,
naUrally .all the bead The worm haa a
pli. all to i, , 11 1 ai ayatem !. a creature whoae
w hole life u devote.1 t. the making f a hole
asac! Is. tilling it with Ita on growth Th. celU
ma It by it are oomwonl) from una quarter to
new third of aa m, h in diameter at the larger
eaxi gradually increasing 11, ait, from the mm
U onllci. by which ita eotrao.e waa efferte.L
Thaa Ihr teredo makes ita home a inuou thai II
ever leerse. And aa a Umber whoa eurfa e
may anow no an; 11 ita dcn.laU.ua may be
completely HMM within At lira! eight, the
tawlo would appear U bare nipliahe.l the
"" 11 palling tie hole 11, altn ,1
Another limber worm, atill more destructive
w ita ecUosv. M of the order m;,U and genua
inwni m. me neat Known scioa ,. the .
Urthnm; much amaller than the teredo, being
al mammy only (rum ou.-liiui ui uuu-uau u,
an inch in length. The limnoria penetrate! at
right angles to tho line of the libera and purauea
ita oourae across the grain of the wood. Count
lew numbera of theae limnoria attacking a pile
from all aidea, eat almoat into the heart of the
tun our. ao that it mav hu broken hv a slmht 1st
eral atrain. T. ,1. Arnold, Engineer to the Har
bor ( 'ommissioncrs, in his report made to the
Hoard 111 I ni 11 tit y, I H7.J, atatua that the I mi no
ria had only recently made ita appearance in our
waten. Hiuce which time it haa become aa
trouhleaomo aa the teredo.
Still another timber deatroyor now inhabits
our watera. Mr. J. K. Hcupham, Aaat. Kuginoer
of the ('. 1'. It. It., diicovered it about two
yeara ago in San Francisco lay, ami it seoina to
lie faat lucreaaing in nuniliera. Thia last arrival
is a cruataccan of the genua rhilura, and species
Irrrhmu: It ia much larger than the limnnria.
and attacks timber in tho name way, by cutting
acroaa the grain of tho wood. From the fact
that it i nlets the pilea juat above the mud, it
may tin great injury before ita preaenco ia known
or even auaiectcil. W hat ita fate may be in
our watera it ii iutioeaiblo to determine It ia
stipnaoil to have been brought hero by shipping
from Auatralian port.
Neither tho teredo nor the limnoria will
1 ni n. in nracKisii watera. inoy rctiiiiru sea
water, free from all impuritiea, and avoid places
where the water ia contaminated by the dis
charge from lowen. They do not attack piloa
while tho bark remain! on, but wherever the
timber becomes exposed tboro they outer ; with
thia difference : the tereilo always penetrate!
from Mow low-water mark, while the limnoria
moat frequently attacks juat lielow the lino of
high water. It is thought that the latter likea
to take the sea air between tides. Tho ( '0111
miaaionera atato that in tho harbor of Ban Fran-
oiaco the bark protecta tho piles for about two
years, and that iu tho course of fivo yoara moro
wioy nave to ne renewed.
1 11 the :n. hues of Holland, is preserved a
liaiier by llr. K II. Von llaumhaiior Inf whirl,
a tranalation appeared in tho Popular Srience
.onrity ior august ami September, 1878,) con-
ti II a description of many methods for the
preservation of timber, Unit were teated in
Holland, under tho direction of tho Hoyal
Academy of Scioncoi of Amiterdam. Of theao
mothoda wore two claaaoa 1 cnatinga applied to
the aurface of wood, or modilicationa of tho sur
face it-, it ; and impregnation of wood with dif
ferent iuhatancea which modify tho interior aa
well aa the aurface of the wood. Of tho first
olaae, eight ircosaea were aiibmitted to the
Commission, iiicludinu metallic mint n,,.i,,
of QMI Ur. ream and sulphur, applied hot
paralline varnish ; coal Ur, applied colli in
suweasive layers ; lurientin ; linaeed oil ; color
Hunta, ami charring tho aurface of the wood
SNM)imena of wood treated by theae processes
were placed in aea water in May, IKffl). An ex
amination made aix months afterwards con
vinced the 'otnmiaaion that none of them were
effective, and that no mere otenor application
csmid guarantee protection. Of methoda of
impregnating wood, they exanuneil the follow
ing i Sulphate of copper, green vitriol, acaute
of lead. ..bcate nf llm, ,1 f pt, and ,
ereoaoUv 1 he only one of theae that found favor
with the t ommiaaion waa that which employed
the , ,,( creoeoU. They eonclude.1 that mere
e.trrmd coaunp were in.ulbct.nt, aa they were
- !lyi t.'?'"1 mrc,"u'll mean, or
mal le.t mtm l-oam e.poaed, the teredo
netr.t.l Impregnation with aolul.le aalU la
meffeeuv. Itacaw, they are d,a,lved by the
action of U,.a.wr. In employing the oil
of rota. it ia Mcaaary that it he of good
Mal.ty the imiH-egnaUon thorough, and inch
Th"!'! " U,rb I'lv
52 "laiia were oonhrme.1 by aubeenuent
ft 4 French
It 11 U. I regretted that the Holland
tfS" ..penmentawith JSuSZ.
ft""1- ' C Kmml nZ but on
MMM of .ta htgh pne, u,, 5gTj W
thought uieleaa to try it. Thia lubatanos, now
ao cheap (selling iu ..... , . , ,, at about two
and a half cents per gallon) and abundant in
California, might make a moat effective preser
vative if properly mod. Some of the heavy
California oil, which thickena on being exposed
and changes tn'o a substance called maltha'
(allied to asphaltum), would seem well suited
to the purpose. Whatever process ia used it
appears to be essential that the sap be thor
oughly expelled from the wood, and the albu
men that remains be ooagulated by heat before
the impregnation is effected.
The cost, of the oil i,n,u, will - 1 '
- - ciu piuoaoiy
prevent its general use for this purpose. It is
ollt-Jtillftl lw Iho ,1 iut llt.i I i,o, nl aa.1 1 f
it 1 , m oi bar, ana 18
Hold in the Ivistern mnrlrf. ol bIum.1 .1. A
; " u "oooL sia cents
per gallon. It is not manufactured hero, and
it,.. ...... 1 , ., . ,.,.,.......,.. . L : i
v ....... ...... vwi . "oioniiios ,i niiier price in
this market. One gallon of creosote oil is re-
lltlirfld for each enltie foot nf wuul WakJ
1 " - -- w ,,,..i. various
preservative methods employing creosote have
lieen tried in San leranoiam ,.nllo,l m.m.1: L
- --- - - .-w, vw.vu uopceit, veiy,
the Seel v, Itobbins, and Woods processes, but
mm nave uoou aaiisiacnory to me Harbor Uom-
.... . isubimu , ,oo,,iuj prouuee to erect
works for tho preservation ol timber bv the
't'l. it.. ....... . ............ -.u:.u i i J,
. o.,o,,.o j,io. , ss, ninen employs sutpnace 01
copper, with the addition of chloride of barium,
forming sulphate of baryta, which is claimed to
I... i ...... I. .1,1.. ' L of .11 11 .
wasmw wiiicr. ji aii brie processes
tested by our Harbor Commissioners, this is
the only one which has so far proved efficacious.
Thov have a niece nf Minhims ..;., ...l,i..u
j : . I jiiuu suivii waa
treatod by the Thilmany process, and placed in
- vi vm, iNv. ovisiin; ii piooil Ol HIO BainC
WllOll II III Hot, el,, I Aft..,- n .w.w.b.... ..f 4....
, 1 -w. . ..,,. I,,. Dssrauic ui mil
yoars, the pieces were taken up, and the one so
I....I...1 I...... 1 t-l... 1 Lil. IL. .11
......... iuuiiu iuiacii, wiuie sno otnor was com-
uletelv n,l.!l...l t... ti... .....i.. nsu. n r.
r --j . ..... ..,. . .in ueiioo. XUD V oilinilS-
sitinera are not sure that the process would be
ctiicacious witn tho Oregon fir. in use in our
,. ..I...... TI :: ' ii
a, xuey iue giving some otnor pieces 01
wood, treatod by the Thilmany process, a longer
tost II'. A. Lawaon in Mining and Scientific
Press,
Wikk Bklth. The Iron Aat. sneaking of
thia latest invention, says: "Machine straps of
wire, aa a substitute for leather, are being made
by a Herman firm. The belts are made of the
best cruoible steel wire, in transverse network
of one to ten wires, in any desirablo length or
width. The two emla nf th aaa iaimiI
like the middle, so that there is no beginning
and no ending, the belt forming an endless
Und. All the wires run parallel only across
the width, in such a manner that one wire
cavenea into tno other like a spiral, a continuous,
densely-wovon chain being thus produced, the
movability of whioh is ao great as to enable it
to go round the smallest pulley. The straps
are also made with leather or clastic lining, or
I ., ,, , I . . r... 1 .. .1 I. I.....I .1 1 . I t 1 i
nun n-.iiiiei. elastic, neiup, Iiair-UIIH',
or any other material, also its interstices filled
wm Kim.i perciiti, to soppiy elasuc nanus witn
Cotton uel, anil in iV i ..!.;
i ..-. iv pinmuh iiieu nv, uisiiioiH-
The tightening of the strap shortening of the
""in i wiiy ueueaaary once, via., wo en
oj no ins oi a Btrsip aey, may oeeneotasi
...iy eaauy iin,t very quickly by taking out any
desirable niimHnr nf vim n.,.l inininff
the two ends in the same manner by twisting in
""imrou numner oi wires.
T.vra. Worm in CttcUMBWW. The dietetio
repuUtion of cucumbers ia bad enough already,
Hot it is likely to become worse, now that Dr.
eidy, of Philadelphia, haa discovered that
they are liable to he infaatad with tana.wnrtn.
At a meeting of the Academy of Science, Phil
adelphia, he exhibited a specimen of tape-worm
taaen from the inaide of large cucumber. It
ii aaid to have had all the characteristics of a
true tape worm, but belonged to an unknown
species, the peculiarity being that the ovaries,
containing the round yellow eggs, are oonflned
to the anterior extremity of the segment.