228 



THE GUIDE TO NATURE. 



yourself, humanity, and recognize that 

 though you may be "it," you are not 

 "all." "There are others," and other 

 forms of life; other things are worthy of 

 careful consideration. 



The Guide to Nature is the very 

 antithesis of egotism. It's prime pur- 

 pose is to lead you, humanity, delight- 

 fully out of yourself to a considerate 

 appreciation of "the others" around 

 you. The same Power that produced 

 you produced them also. What would 

 you think of a set of children, or one 

 child, in a family that took no notice 

 or had no regard for other members of 

 the same family ! I do not believe the 

 Head of the Family would enjoy that. 

 Probably it was this thought in Brown- 

 ing's mind that induced him to write, 

 "God must be glad one loves His world 

 so much." 



But, O Browning, why didn't you tell 

 us about the egotist who has no love or 

 regard for the other parts of His 

 World? Perhaps even you, with all 

 your verbal skill, could not have given 

 full expression to your thoughts on 

 such indifference. 



Don't be egotistical. 



evening, Mr. Crochier said that there 

 was not money enough in Holyoke to 

 buy the dog. — The Republican, Spring- 

 field, Mass. 



A Life Saving Dog. 



There is one dog in Holyoke who 

 ought to have a Carnegie medal for 

 the saving of life, if all accounts of its 

 actions at the time of the big Donoghue 

 fire on Main Street are true. Mr. and 

 Mrs. Joseph Crochier lived on the 

 fourth floor of the block, and the even- 

 ing of the fire Mr. Crochier was at the 

 Red Men's meeting and the family had 

 retired for the night. Blanche, the 

 eighteen-months old baby, was sleep- 

 ing in the crib, and at the alarm of fire 

 in some way the family got separated 

 from the baby and she was left behind. 

 According to the story, Rover, a four- 

 year-old bull-dog, owned by Mr. Cro- 

 chier, was bound to go back into the 

 building and could not be stopped. He 

 got away from those who tried to stop 

 him and, going into the tenement, 

 which was filled with smoke, he seized 

 the infant by the dress and brought 

 her down the four flights of stairs to 

 the open air. The baby was almost 

 stifled with the smoke, but soon re- 

 covered. In talking of the matter last 



! CORRESPONDENCE I 



I 



I 



How Sea Urchins Dig Into Rocks 



Grantham, New Hampshire. 

 To The Editor: — 



Miss Sarah Root Adams in her very 

 interesting article, "A Rock-pool by the 

 Sea," writes : "I have read, in a work 

 translated from the French by an Eng- 

 lish naturalist, 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." 



I have never been able to discover 

 them in their rock homes, but in a little 

 book ("A First Lesson in Natural His- 

 tory") I have, written by Mrs. Agassiz, 

 I find this: "The sea urchin has one 

 very peculiar habit. He bores for him- 

 self a hole in the rocks, which just fits 

 him, and makes a very comfortable and 

 snug retreat. The common sea urchin 

 of Nahant, Massachusetts, is one of those 

 that make these singular holes, and you 

 may have an opportunity of seeing them 

 in the rocks there." 



So far as I can learn, their method of 

 making these holes, which have been 

 found in both hard and soft rocks, has 

 never been discovered. That they are 

 made bv the animals themselves seems to 

 have been proven beyond a doubt, as they 

 are found in them, and fit them so per- 

 fectly that no animal not of exactly their 

 size and shape could have fashioned 

 them : thev are of all sizes, from that of 

 the young sea urchin to the full grown 

 one. 



Some naturalists have supposed them 

 to have been made by the constant fric- 

 tion of a fringe that is in unceasing mo- 

 tion. This fringe, which is invisible to 

 the naked eye, covers the spines of the 

 animal, and by the continued turning 

 over and over of the sea urchin in the 

 same spot the hole may be worn in the 

 rock. 



It is hard to believe that these holes, 

 which have been found in the hardest 



