File:Little folks in feathers and fur, and others in neither (1875) (14784255905).jpg

Identifier: littlefolksinfea00mill (find matches)
Title: Little folks in feathers and fur, and others in neither
Year: 1875 (1870s)
Authors: (Miller, Harriet (Mann) Mrs.), 1831- (from old catalog)
Subjects: Zoology
Publisher: Hartford, Conn., Dustin, Gilman & co. Cincinnati, Ohio, Queen city publishing co. (etc., etc.)
Contributing Library: The Library of Congress
Digitizing Sponsor: The Library of Congress

View Book Page: Book Viewer
About This Book: Catalog Entry
View All Images: All Images From Book
Click here to view book online to see this illustration in context in a browseable online version of this book.

Text Appearing Before Image:
through the whole of their life. Some-times they fasten themselves to shells of living animals, such ascrabs, and thus get carried about. The animal part of the Spongeis a soft substance, upheld by a sort of horny network whichanswers the purpose of bones. While alive, the curious creaturedoes nothing but draw the sea water into its thousands of smallmouths, and keeping what it wants to eat, throwing the rest out ina tiny fountain from the larger openings which you will easily findif you look at a Sponge. A Sponge in full action, Mr. Woodsays, is a wonderful sight. The Sponge will shrink away from the hand that tries to seizeit, and it has the power of replacing any part that is torn away. In the spring, the Sponges throw off quantities of small roundeggs of a yellow or white color. From these eggs are hatched tinyatoms of life, which float about a day or two, and then settle on tothe first convenient place they find and proceed to grow intoSponges like their mother. 336 LITTLE FOLKS
Text Appearing After Image:
There are many different kinds of Sponges ; several hundred inall. The largest known, is called Neptunes Cup, and is found onthe shore of Singapore. It is three or four feet high, hollowed out IN FEATHERS AND FUR. 337 like a cup, and looking not so much like a Sponge as it does like apiece of rough bark. It is stiff, and not elastic like a commonSponge. Another kind is called—from its shape—the Mermaids.Glove. It is sometimes two feet high, and rough and thorny to.the touch. It is of a pale straw color. Sponge fishing is carried on in various places, and in various,ways. On the coast of Syria, many boats are sent out every year.Each boat has four or five men. The poorer kind of Sponges are_found in shallow water, and are reached by a three-pronged sort ofa fork, which tears them off from the rocks. But the better andfiner Sponges are found in deep water, and for these, divers areemployed. The diver takes a knife and carefully removes theSponge without tearing it. Of course these S

Note About Images