STAR-FISHES AND SEA-URCHINS. 53 



them, and thus holding them fast. A friend of mine 

 was one day watching a Star- Fish in a large glass dish, 

 which had its eggs folded within the suckers in this 

 way ; and wishing to examine the eggs more closely, he 

 parted the suckers, took the eggs away, and kept them 

 foi some time. When he had finished his examination, 

 he dropped them back into the dish. At once, to his 

 surprise, the Star- Fish seemed to be aware that its eggs 

 had been returned to it ; and moving towards them at 

 its utmost speed (which is, at best, but creeping very 

 slowly), it placed itself over them, folded its suckers 

 once more around them, and so took them up again. 

 Wishing to be quite sure that this had not been acci- 

 dental, he removed the eggs again, put the Star-Fish 

 into another and larger dish ; and having placed it at 

 one end, and putting also some obstacle in the centre 

 of the dish to divide it from the other side, he then 

 dropped the eggs in at the end opposite the parent, as 

 far from it as possible. The Star- Fish immediately be- 

 gan its journey (now quite a long one for a Star-Fish) 

 toward its offspring ; and having reached them, covered 

 them, and took them up again as before. A third 

 time the experiment was repeated, but always with the 

 same result : the creature perceived its eggs the mo- 

 ment they were placed in the same vessel with itself, 

 and went at once to shelter and protect them. You 

 see by this it is not lost time to watch even these lowest 

 creatures that God has made. They, too, care for and 

 cherish their young ; they have certain ends to fulfil in 

 life, and they, as well as the higher animals, enjoy the 

 existence that has been granted to them. 



There are a great variety of Star- Fishes ; some in 



