NAKED MOLLUSKS. 127 



group of naked mollusks, or sea-slugs. They have 

 no ornamental shells to attract our attention, but 

 their bodies are often very brilliantly colored, so that 

 when alive and swimming they are among the most 

 beautiful objects of the sea. 



You will find some of them on sea- weed at low 

 tide, looking like little lumps of soft tissue, without 

 form or beauty; but when put into ajar of sea- water, 

 they will extend their tentacles and expand their 

 flower-like gills, and display their fine colors in all 

 their glory. Some are white with scarlet trimmings, 

 others are yellow with brown rings, while others 

 have brilliant fringes of various hues. 



They are mostly small, even when extended, and 

 measure but an inch or two in length. They cannot 

 be preserved except in alcohol, and then their beauty 

 is destroyed; hence they can be satisfactorily studied 

 only at the seaside. 



And now, turning away from the great ocean home 

 with its millions of creeping things, and from the 

 lakes and streams and marshes with all their inhabit- 

 ants, come with me to the land; let us search the 

 fields and the groves, for there, too, we shall find our 

 humble shell-bearing friends, patiently awaiting our 



