Si 



HARDWICKE'S SCIEN CE-GO S SIP. 



THE SEA AND ITS WONDERS. * 



THE English publishers of Michelet's enchanting 

 and beautifully-illustrated " Bird " have pro- 

 duced a marvellously cheap and elegant volume 

 for the young, which we recommend with confidence 

 as a gift-book for little folks. Having tried the 

 experiment, we have found it to answer our most ! with the animal in it. 



"This is a shell which no doubt you have seen 

 many times, for it may be met with in every col- 

 lection of shells. 



" It is called the pearly nautilus. 



"The creature that lives in the shell is so timid, 

 and keeps in such deep water, that it is very rarely 

 caught sight of. Only once has the shell been takeu 



Fig. 53. Shells of— 1. Triton, imbricata. 2. Nautilus pompilius. 3. Helix ovata. 4. Argonauta papyracea. 



sanguine anticipations, and we advise all our readers 

 who have youug folks to please to go and do like- 

 wise. The illustrations are profuse and excellent ; 

 the paper, printing, and binding all that could be 

 desired. Our only regret is that we do not know 

 of more such books, and at such a moderate price, 

 suitable for like purposes. As an example of the 

 style, we extract one of the chapters, called— 



The Peakly Nautilus. 



" There is a relation of the argonaut that makes a 

 shell with chambers in it. 



* "The Sea and its Wonders. By Mary and Elizabeth 

 Kirby. London : T. Nelson and Sons. - ' 



" It was floating on the sea, and looked like a dead 

 toi'toise-shell cat. 



" The captain of the ship sent oif a boat for the 

 purpose of finding out what the object really was. 



" But the creature began to sink so fast, that it 

 was with the utmost difficulty it could be caught. 



" Indeed the shell was broken by the boat-hook 

 striking it so quickly. 



'•' For no time had to be lost. In a minute more, 

 it would have escaped. 



" The mollusc that lived in the shell was thus, 

 for once, found at home. 



" It was firmly fixed to each side of the shell, and 

 had a mantle of a purple colour, with a reddish tint, 

 and with spots of a deeper colour still. 



