it by one of its arms, I attempted to lift it out of 

 the water, but all I retained from this effort was 

 the seized member — the rest of the animal de- 

 tached itself and insinuated the disk and its re- 

 maining four appendages into a nook offered by a 

 protecting mass of weeds. It was plain that if I 

 wanted a serpent-star for observation, this piece- 

 meal method of capture would never do; so, cau- 

 tiously separating the plant in which it lodged, 

 I lifted it with the tiny captive from the tray and 

 placed them together in a small tank of clean sea- 

 water without any other addition than some fronds 

 of sea-lettuce to keep it fresh, and some gravel 

 and comminuted shells on the bottom — the latter 

 of which were for the purpose of supplying, by en- 

 tering into solution, the necessary mineral sub- 

 stance for the animal's growing frame. 



Here, indeed, was material for my new instru- 

 ment. It would be more than a mere diversion : it 

 would be a serious undertaking: I purposed then 

 and there to pry, if possible, into every secret of 

 its private life. 



But, after all, how was this to be accomplished? 

 Obviously, one specimen would give scant oppor- 

 tunity. Moreover, what little I knew of these 



[5o] 



