78 A day's microscopic shore-hunting. 



each egg, which is cigar-shaped, but pointed at both ends, is 

 attached to the rock by one of its points, so that the whole mass 

 of eggs is packed together on end in this manner. The young, 

 just ready to emerge, are aUve and wrigghng about inside the 

 egg- cases; and the silvery appearance which attracted our attention, 

 is nothing more than the brilUant sparkle of thousands of pairs 

 of litde eyes. We will scrape off a portion, and transfer it to one 

 of our tubes for microscopic examination, and shall thus be 

 able to see the tail, fins, pigment-cells, and structure generally of 

 the minute fish wrapped in its tiny case, barely an eighth of an 

 inch in length. 



In this hole is the nest of a Wrasse, formed of about a peck 

 of algge stowed away in an untidy fashion, the eggs being mixed 

 up with it. What a difference between the two fishes ! The 

 one fixes its long, pointed eggs to the surface of a rock, whilst 

 the other, whose eggs by the way are quite round, packs them 

 away in a hole with a lot of sea-weed. The eggs of the Wrasse 

 are, however, very interesting, as, with our microscope, the young 

 may be seen coiled up in its egg-case, much in the same way as 

 the Zoaea of Crustacea. 



As we examine the Zostera, we notice some curious little 

 bodies on the fronds. These are the egg-capsules of one of the 

 Mollusca, Nassa incrassata, placed in regular rows ; they are 

 flask-shaped and flat, the mouth, from which the young escape, 

 being at the top. They form most beautiful microscopic objects. 



It is surprising what a quantity of Aplysias we find here. 

 Their ova will be found in dense masses of a brilliant yellow or 

 red colour, in long strings of a gelatinous substance, and are 

 most curious. 



But suddenly a curious and warning phenomenon meets our 

 view. All this time, during the ebb, the long wavy fronds of 

 the Zostera have been pointing sea-wards, but, as we watch, we 

 notice that the points are curving over, and we well know that in 

 a short time the fronds washed by the rapidly-rising tide will be 

 all pointing land-wards, and we also know that it is time to beat a 

 hasty retreat from these almost trojjically luxuriant pools. As 

 we near the margin of the rising tide, we are much struck with 

 the number of prawns foraging along the newly-covered shingle 



