48 



THE MUSEUM. 



beauties lay dead on a table in the mus- 

 eum, they had faded sadly from their 

 pristine splendor. Among the sponges 

 grew purple Boltenia packyderniatitia, 

 a pear-shaped head upon a slender 

 stalk, like tulips in an earthly garden. 



For a surprise, the diver held up be- 

 fore my face and pressed an Aplysia. 

 From it flowed a violet stream which 

 Stained the water for two feet around, 

 hiding hand and mollusk in the cloud. 

 One of my last captures was an exquis- 

 ite nudibranch, which swarmed on the 

 broad fucus blades. In hue it was the 

 blue of a summer sky, flecked with 

 blood-red dots and stripes. I had now 

 grown weary; not of searching for won- 

 ders, but of supporting the heavy div- 

 ing armor, and was content to be 

 drawn up again to the world of airand 

 and sunshine, which I had quitted 

 three-quarters of an hour before. 



On reflection, I found the reward of 

 my under-water foray to be, not a 

 hoard of specimens, but a better ap- 

 preciation of the circumstances under 

 which marine life exists. Our party 

 of four had only observed, dead or 

 alive, Cliamostrca albida, Vola fujn- 

 ata, Trigonia lamarcki, Sti'iitJiiolaria 

 scutulata, Drillia ozveni, Cassis py- 

 ruui, Cyprcea xanthodon, Astraliuin 

 tciitoriformc, Ranclla Icucostoina, A- 

 plysia kcraudrcni, Chroinodoris bcji- 

 nctti, and two undetermined Doris. 

 Molluscan life seemed, on the spot I 

 explored, to be less plentiful than at 

 low-tide mark. Perhaps, however, the 

 difficulties under which I labored as a 

 beginner in the art of diving, impeded 

 me from finding what was really there. 

 After seeing the rough sea floor, one 

 wonders that a dredge should capture 

 as much as it does. A rich harvest 

 probably awaits a conchologist who 



should seriously practice diving as a 

 means of collecting. — Nautilus. 



The Hermit Crab. 



This very curious little animal is one 

 that always attracts attention when one 

 visits the sea shore. Not unfrequently 

 is he found occupying a fresh "live" (.'') 

 shell showing that he has attacked and 

 killed the Mollusk. To watch one 

 crawling along the beach dragging the 

 shell after them, is indeed a curious 

 sight. They are most commonly found 

 in the Naticas which line the Atlantic 

 shore. Their structure is not unlike 

 the common crawfish or fresh water 

 crabs. The legs and feelers are always 

 attached to the forward half of the an- 

 imal, being the body proper. The 

 jointed portion behind is called the 

 abdomen. The head is a part of the 

 body proper and is not separate from 

 it as in the case of insects, etc. The 

 abdomen portion is soft and has no 

 trace of the hardened parts as in the 

 case of the lobster. It can be i"eadily 

 seen that as this portion of the body 

 has no means of protection it would be 

 but natural for the animal to inhabit 

 some of the shells cast upon the beach. 

 Its structure enables it to hold onto the 

 shell easily but as the shell has no 

 power of growth the crab from time to 

 time has to vacate and secure new 

 quarters. 



Congratulations. 



Waltku F. Weisb, Es^., Publisher, Albion, 



N. y. 



My Dear Sir: — Your flrst number of the 

 "Museum" received, and I eongratulate you 

 luost heartily. It is just what we naturalists 

 of the East have needed for a long time. En- 

 closed please lind one dollar for one year's 

 subscription. Wishing you great success in 

 your venture, I am, 



Very sincerely yours, 

 Fred W. rAUKiiuitST, Att'y at Law. 



