98 WESTERN SERIES OF READERS. 



and down all the day long, and this stretch 

 is bounded by scarred and broken ledges 

 which run far out into the sea, and whose 

 presence may be known by the foam of 

 Figure 48. the white breakers. Each of these con- 

 ditions has its own form of life, and each seems 

 ready to tell us its particular story. 



As we approach the water, the first moUusks 

 we meet are the little Littorines, or Shore-shells. 

 They are clustered on the rocks, waiting for the 

 returning tide There are two species of 

 littorines, looking like Figures 48 and 49, 

 only many of them are not so large as 

 the pictures would indicate. They are 

 modest little shells, of a dark gray color, ^^^•'^'^^ 

 like the rocks on which they rest, and they are 

 able to resist thirst and drought for a long time, 

 as their shells are tightly shut by a close-fitting 

 operculum. 



But if you put them m sea-water they quickly re- 

 vive, and their little black bodies 

 go creeping rapidly over the 

 rocky surface, and their rough 

 tongues rasp off the green coat- 

 ing which gathers on wet stones. 

 There is also a plenty of lim- 

 Figure 50?" pcts of different species, but these 



