170 



THE GUIDE TO NATURE. 



FEEDING THE GULLS ON THE BEACH 



be worn out, did they not grow from 

 the base as they are worn at the point, 

 like those of rodents. 



I have read, in a work translated 

 from the French by an English natural- 

 ist, that the sea-urchins hollow out 

 holes for themselves in the hardest 

 rocks. I am curious to know whether 

 on any part of our coast they do this. 

 Those described in the work mentioned 

 above seem to be similar to ours in 

 other respects. As I pass my hand 

 along the steep side of the pool before 

 me, I perceive that these urchins are 

 not in hollows, as, when they make 

 their presence known by their sharp 

 spines, I can detach them from the 

 surface of the rock. 



As I kneel on the seaweed, watch- 

 ing these singular creatures, a little 

 cascade suddenly appears at one end of 

 the pool. The tide has been creeping 

 up slowly but surely, and in one place 

 has crept over the edge of the pool, 

 bringing a new impulse of life into this 

 busy little world. I am warned in 

 time, and cannot even stop to watch 

 the many varieties of snails crawling 

 over the seaweed, but must scramble 



up the rocks to a safe place ; for this 

 low-lying mass of seaweed will soon 

 be covered by the tide, and in a few 

 hours the outlying ledge of rock will 

 be all that marks the spot where live 

 and grow these wonderful creatures of 

 the sea. 



I find The Guide to Nature particu- 

 larly good of its kind and am pleased 

 to know that nature study is increasing 

 in popularity so fast, as is evident by 

 the success of your journal and an in- 

 creasing supply of literature along pop- 

 ular lines. All possible stimulus along 

 such lines is most praiseworthy and 

 desirable. Keep up the good work. 

 Enthusiasts of your leading genial type 

 are rare indeed, but "get there," and I 

 wish you continued successes. — E. H. 

 Eames, Bridgeport, Connecticut. 



The Guide to Nature for last month 

 is the right sort, and contains a whole 

 lot of healthy and interesting material 

 to bring before young naturalists in 



any part of 

 Shufeldt. 



the world. — Dr. R. W. 



