CO
o
THURSDAY, DECEMBER 8, 1960
MEDFORD MAIL TRIBUNE, MEDFORD. OREGON
B 7
(1 Id II
Worlds
liiUs
By Lynn M. Watkins
r
It is rather difficult to im
agine a drill, a tool that bores
a hole in some material, as
having a soft touch; so it's
hard to imagine any tongue so
cleverly equipped with barbs
that it could easily rasp a
hole in hard, stony material
and at the same time do it
so gently that there would be
no noise of drilling or even
pain to the one who happened
to live inside the stony ma
terial that was being drilled.
But such is the way of life
of a simple mollusk that lives
in salt water and has to drill
through the shell of an oyster
or some other shell creature
every time it wants to eat.
The "drill shell" makes the
hole in another's shell and
later, using the same tongue
with which it drilled the hole,
sucks out the body juices of
the victim.
The "drill shell" is such a
little guy, too, in spite of the
fact he is really a monster in
the way he operates. In
American waters the "drill
shell" is seldom over an inch
long; often purplish in color.
Seldom docs it weigh a tenth
as much as the mollusk it at
tacks. Many and Active
But, for a univalve mol
lusk the "drill" is exceedingly
active, and his numbers are
usually great. Any other mol
lusk in areas where the "drill"
is plentiful could scarcely live
over a couple of years with
out sometime being attacked
by a "drill shell."
The secret, of course, is in
the "tongue" of the "drill."
In scientific parlance this
tongue is called a "radula." On
its tip is a series r ' tiny barbs,
each so small it's invisible to
the naked eye, but unbeliev
ably sharp and capable of
penetrating solid rock. An
oyster shell is about as hard
as stone.
The "drill shell' moves
along the ocean bottom until
it finds a live mollusk, then
it begins its work. Silently
and with cruel certainty, the
tongue begins the seemingly
impossible task of cutting a
hole through the hard shell
of the victim. Like the burr
on the dentist's drill, the
tongue rasps a circular hole
in a surprisingly short space
of time. As the puncture is
made the tongue darts into
the soft body of the victim
and the juices are sucked out.
Questions Raised
There has been some doubt
in the minds of some scientists
as to the real way in which
the drill accomplishes the
drilling. It is advocated by
some students that the drill
exudes some powerful fluid
on the shell that softens it
and makes the final opening
easy.
Whatever this chemical is,
or even if it is a chemical, is
still a mystery. It would have
to be a very powerful chem
ical to dissolve solid lime
stone. The tiny "drill" may guard
a secret in its small body; or
perhaps he just "laps and
laps" with his soft tongue un
til he wears a hole in solid
limestone.
(Released by The Register and
Tribune Syndicate, 1960)
Appling, Belton
Take Office Oaths
Salem-lliro-Howell Appling
Jr. and Howard C. Belton
were sworn in today to four
year terms as secretary of
. state and state treasurer, re
spectively. Bnth won election Nov. 8.
Oregon Supreme Court Chief
Justice William McAllister
presided as they took the oath
of office.
The ceremony was in Gov.
Mark Hatfield's office.
Police Catch Trio
Carting Safe Away
Duluth, Minn-Three squad
cars were at the scene in less
than two minutes after a bur
glar alarm sounded at the
Northern City National Bank
here-just in time to surround
three men wheeling a safe
out the back door.
The Irin turned out to be
members of a contracting firm
remodeling the bank building.
The safe was an old one be
ing hauled away as junk. A
janitor had accidentally trip
ped the burglar alarm.
ROAD FIRM HEAD DIES
iOlanta -H'PIi- Funeral serv
ices were scheduled today for
Robert L. MacDougall, 99,
head of an Atlanta road con
struction firm. MacDougall,
who died Tuesday night, was
assistant national commission
er and chief engineer of the
Works Progress Administra
tion (WPA) during the depression.
"
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Prices Effective Thursday, aiarday Decemr 8, 9and 10 OV SdlSC! BSCtS
Save on wiiiison's Buttered Rich in protein V, Fine Quality Vegetables Regular to 1 8c ea. J:
Ilf Pi Rinso Bue Beefsteaks Albers Oats g V4 fl P A A
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P Package 59 Package 59 Bag 79 WWh. TINS jfW
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u
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pal
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4"ri00
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from slowly aged ser
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7-Bone Beef Roost ..
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lH -1-98 j lei -1-98
Stewart at King Streets - Acres of Parking Space
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right to limit quantities.
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