106 SEA-SIDE STUDIES. 



attacks them but very slowly, and never entirely dis- 

 solves them ; for the organic matter remains behind, 

 in the shape of a spongy mass larger than the original 

 pearl. 



" Forewarned, forearmed/' Students once having 

 their attention called to the necessity of scepticism in 

 Zoology, will soon find abundant occasion for its exer- 

 cise. We should as much as possible keep the mind 

 in a state of loose moorings, not firmly anchoring on 

 any ground, unless our charts are full of explicit detail ; 

 not believing (but simply acquiescing, and that in a 

 provisional way) in any fact which is not clear in the 

 light of its own evidence, or which, in default of our 

 having verified it for ourselves, has the trustworthy 

 verification of another. This sounds like a truism, but 

 it is not my fault if it be necessary to enforce a truism. 

 The adoption of such a rigorous scepticism would 

 revolutionise Zoology. It will not be adopted by the 

 majority, because it will give great trouble, and men 

 dislike trouble ; but the more restless and rebellious 

 spirits, of which there is always a proportion in every 

 sphere, will " scorn delights and live laborious days," 

 in subjecting accepted statements to rigorous verifi- 

 cation. 



I came down to the coast as an amateur, ignorant, 

 but anxious to learn, and not simply to seem to learn. 

 For this purpose it was not enough that I should know 

 what was said respecting the simpler organisms, but it 

 was necessary, as far as possible, to understand the 

 grounds on which each statement was made. Many 



