HARDWICKE'S SCIENCE-GOSSIP. 



103 



turns its own stomach inside out, in the form of a 

 lobe, and this lobe lias such pliable properties, that 

 when the unsuspecting oyster opens just a wee 

 portion of its shell, the sly Starfish pokes his 

 stomach in, and skilfully manages to extract all 

 the succulent portion of the animal. The hand- 

 somest of the Starfishes found on our coast is the 

 " Sun-star." It is found on oyster-beds and 

 scallop-banks. The " Purple-tipped Sea-urchin " 

 aud the "Common Urchin" are the most gene- 

 rally known of the British species. The latter are 

 eaten abroad, and are said to be remarkably pala- 

 table. Judging from tbe avidity with which Crass 

 seize and devour Sea-urchins, one would, imagine 

 the fame of their savour well deserved ; that is 

 supposing the taste of Crass and human beings to 

 approximate. Anyhow, the Sea-urchiu's relation, 

 the Sea-slug, is considered a delicacy by the Celes- 

 tials. However, the Chinese are known to possess 

 queer notions about culinary matters, so that their 

 verdict cannot be relied on. Unfortunately, most 

 unfortunately, the siege of Paris has given the 

 poor Parisians ample opportunity of tasting and 

 testing some of the articles of food used in China 

 — such as dogs, cats, and rats. 



Now I come to a higher order of marine animals> 

 old acquaintance doubtless of my readers, Crus- 

 taceans, comprising Prawns, Shrimps, Crabs, and 

 Lobsters, not forgetting the well-known Barnacle, 

 and the Sea-acorn. 



It was not my object when I began this article to 

 include in it any animal that could not be met with 

 by the sea-shore pedestrian ; therefore as the edible 

 Crab and Lobster are mostly table friends, I shall 

 dismiss them at once, but the various Crabs we find 

 under the seaweed -fringed rocks, or buried in the 

 soft sand, demand a longer notice. First of all there 

 is the brave little Velvet Crab with its bright coat of 

 brown and blue, and the Hermit Crab, that singular 

 creature, which, not having been provided by nature 

 with an armour of its own, seeks a coat of mail for 

 its hinder extremities in the empty shell of a whelk. 

 Some evil-disposed naturalists have slandered the 

 poor hermit of the ocean, by asserting that it first 

 kills the rightful owner, eats him up, and then takes 

 possession of his property; but this fact is not 

 proven. Pishermen call the hermits " wigs." The 

 Angular Crab is found on the Welsh coast, and the 

 Spider Crab off Dorsetshire and North Wales, and 

 the other species of the tribe ; and a very extensive 

 tribe it is too, far beyond the limits of an ordinary 

 article like this, otherwise much might be written 

 of interest respecting the different kinds peculiar to 

 our own shores. 



Molluscs, also, I must unwillingly set aside, 

 although the shells of some are so beautiful, both in 

 colour as well as structure, that it would be a real 

 pleasure to describe them; for the true lover of 

 natural history finds (next to the enjoyment of col- 



lecting specimens) most satisfaction in writing 

 about them for the amusement of others ; and if I 

 have succeeded in affording pleasure to even one 

 fellow mortal, who like myself appreciates a walk 

 on the beach, not simply for the sake of benefiting 

 by the health-giving sea-breezes, but on account of 

 the opportunity it affords us of acquiring a greater 

 insight into the works of Him who formed the 

 glorious scene, and framed a scale of being, each 

 holding an important rank or link in the vast chain 

 of creation, I shall feel amply repaid for my labour 

 in writing "A Ramble by the Sea-shore." 



" Oh Nature, how I love thee ! how my soul 

 Delights to gaze on thy resplendent form, 

 Till like Pygmalion, raptured by the sight, 

 And passionately fond, God gives thee life 

 In every feature. And thou art not matter, 

 But vital essence. In thy streams and hills, 

 And vales and mountains, trees and herbs and flowers , 

 And all the living creatures that they hold, 

 I see and feel the active soul of heaven." 



H. E. Watney. 



TI. 



npi was a pet squirrel, whose history is now 

 -*- about to be written. In the spring of 1870 

 a party of workmen, who were employed in the 

 neighbourhood of "glorious Goodwood," captured 

 fifteen or sixteen young squirrels {Sciurus vulgaris) , 

 some of which had scarcely opened their eyes to 

 the joys of their home in the " High wood." The 

 smallest of the batch was presented to my hopeful 

 son and heir, who entered with alacrity into the 

 project of rearing and civilizing this " babe of the 

 wood." When we first made his acquaintance he was 

 a little sandy urchin, not larger thau a mouse, and 

 his tail was a tail, but it was nothing more. There 

 was the long thin tapering central axis which in 

 due time would, it was hoped, become a brush ; 

 but that graceful appendage, the glory, and doubt- 

 less the pride of all squirrels, was, at this very 

 elementary stage of development, represented by 

 two rows of soft silky hairs, branching off at right 

 angles from the opposite sides of the axis. Its 

 abdomen was white, but not spotless. A number 

 of suspicious-looking black pustules were scat- 

 tered about it. Investigation proved them to be 

 fleas, and fleas too that seemed toj be quite con- 

 tented with the state of life unto which they had 

 been called, for they stuck most tenaciously to the 

 silky fur, and resisted with all the energy in their 

 nature any attempt to remove them. Their ab- 

 sence, however, being a prime necessity, vigorous 

 measures were adopted, the whole brood were de- 

 stroyed, and never afterwards did we see even the 

 ghost of a flea. 



One of the first difficulties felt in connection 

 with our pet was in the selection of a name ; but 

 some one remarked that he was " a little thing, a 



