J U N I O R K I N G S B U S I N E S S
W ould you l ik e to find a dollar? Most everyone would, and you store. The dollar I want to tell you about can give you a wealth of in formation about one of God’s inter esting little seashore animals, and you can have far more fun hunting for it than you could buying some thing for a dollar bill. These dollars are called sand dol lars. Some are the size of silver dol lars, but usually they grow to be three or four inches across. They are found both on the Atlantic and Pacific coasts. You may have found broken pieces or whole sand dollars washed up on the sand. These are bleached-out white, or gray in color. When they are alive and under wa ter, the sand dollars are so dark a purple they appear almost black, and though they turn greenish in the sun, they finally bleach out white. Instead of being content to pick up dead or broken pieces of sand dollars on your next visit to the beach, why not hunt for a live one? Perhaps you can find Denny. He lives on a broad sandy beach in California. Denny’s full name is Dendraster excentricus. Because scientific Latin names are descriptive of the animal bearing them, we learn from his title that Deniiy is an eccentric, or off- center sand dollar. In other words, he is a bit lopsided. But this is not uncomplimentary to Denny. He is not odd or peculiar; he has just designed his living quarters, as well as the exquisite pattern on his “ roof,” a little to one side of the center. It is a most artistic arrange ment. Sand dollars are not so-called be cause they are made of sand, but be cause they live in the sand. Dried ones do look like little sun-baked “ pies” and “ cakes” children make out
If Denny should get turned over on his back, he would be unable to right himself. He would die unless a wave came to his rescue and flipped him over again. Therefore Denny stays beneath his coverlet of sand while the sea is boisterous. But when the water is calm, he stands upright with part of his shell buried, and part in the water. When there is a current in the water, he tips his shell, leaning away from it. God has given Denny a very sturdy shell. On the inside are little pillars which support and strengthen it. They look like columns holding up the roof of a very small marble tem ple. Peek into a broken pice of a sand dollar shell and see what a beau tiful kind of house Denny lives in! Starfish are the principal enemies of Denny which seems a shame since they are his kin. With Denny’s keen sense of smell, he is able to detect the approach of starfish and to duck under the sand to safety before any reach him. Sand dollars are useful to man in at least two ways. When they are ground to a powder and mixed with *Mrs. Kay Gudnason is the author of several hooks including “Psalms of the Heaven, Earth and Sea," “Complete Worship Services for College Age," “David’s Son is Bom," “ Worship from the Psalms for the Celebration Days.” She is a graduate of Mills College and has taken additional study in Christian education. Her hobby has been with sea shells. She is now taking courses in marine life at the University of California. A frequent speaker for Christian women’s clubs, she has the oppor tunity of relating the truths of Christ to common things which one would find along the beach.
of sand, and one of their nicknames is “ sea biscuit.” They are flat on the underside and rounded on the top. Denny, however, looks very differ ent from the beach-worn specimen you may find on the beach. He is cov ered with tiny, soft, velvety spines, like hairs. They will drop off when he dies, but while he is alive they help him in two ways. Their waving motion keeps wet sand grains mov ing to assist him as he burrows into the sand. They also act like a net to catch his food. Particles of food float ing about in the water are trapped in these hairs and Denny feeds upon them. On the outside, Denny looks like a flattened sea urchin, but not on the inside. Instead of the long, stiff spines, Denny has soft, furry ones which serve the same purpose of col lecting food. They each have a food chopper called Aristotle’s Lantern. Denny’s is made of five little pieces, radiating star-like around the mouth opening. These pieces become loose and rattle when a dead sand dollar is shaken. If the shell is broken open, they will be seen to resemble five miniature, fragile and exquisitely- carved white doves. Denny finds protection from the waves by burrowing into sand. He lives just beneath the surface of wet sand at the low-tide level of the beach. Sand dollars live in communi ties and in Denny’s district, hun dreds may be seen at very low tides. Some may be lying flat on the sand and others may be found, moving mole-like, just underneath the sand, where they leave a tell-tale trail. If the tide is not low enough to expose them, you can wade out into the wa ter and feel their bumpy shapes with your feet. If you are quick, you can flip them out and grab some before the waves carry them out of reach.
can, but not the kind to spend in a
THE KING'S BUSINESS
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