A STORM.—RAZOR FISHES. 139 
like edge, and the owner of it makes a fierce 
struggle for liberty, the poor fisherman often 
has his foot badly cut before the prize is 
secured. 
“Razor fishes belong to the order Siphoni- 
_da, some members of which are dubbed ‘ wa- 
tering pots,’ on account of their strong siphons, 
many inches in length. In fact, in the Glyci- 
meris generosa of our own coast the siphon 
attains to a full yard. 
“Their habit of spouting out jets of water 
when disturbed is one way by which they are 
discovered, and gives them the additional name 
of ‘spoutfishes.’ ” 
As the doctor finished, Undine asked: 
“What did you mean by saying, ‘some shells 
were moored by cables of the animal’s own 
spinning ?’” 
“Oh, those are the byssus spinners!” said 
the doctor, and going to a shelf he took sev- 
eral shells from it. First he displayed a pearly 
Anomia, the undervalve of which was flat, with 
a hole near one extremity to allow of the pas- 
sage of the byssus tuft for attachment; then 
he showed them a scallop with a notch through 
which the stout byssus fiber was passed; then 
a mussel, saying: “The inmates of these shells 
knew how to spin a tuft of fibers which in 
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