1883.] 



MICROSCOPICAL JOURNAL. 



167 



being greatly aided in this operation 

 by a stick with which he pointed 

 out each branded animal as it 

 passed. There might have been 

 an earthquake or an explosion of dy- 

 namite close by, without disturbing 

 the record in the least, so intently 

 were his faculties engaged in the 

 work in hand. 



Finally we discovered a boat getting 

 ready to leave for New Brighton, and 

 without the slightest idea of where 

 New Brighton was, and caring quite 

 as little so long as there was a sandy 

 beach there, we inquired regarding 

 the latter, and the response being in 

 every wise satisfactory — "When you're 

 at New Brighton you're right on the 

 beach," — we lost no time in getting on 

 board. 



A short sail down the river and the 

 destination was reached. The town 

 is, no doubt, a desirable place of resi- 

 dence, situated as it is, upon elevated 

 ground near the mouth of the Merse}', 

 with a commanding view of the river. 

 But our course was for the beach, and 

 for some distance along a promenade 

 running in front of a long row of shops 

 fronting the water. Every shop was 

 an eating saloon — dozens of them in 

 a row — and the bills of fare were 

 alike in all of them with the trifling 

 exception that in some cases '' roast 

 beef, peas and potatoes," were is. 3^/., 

 and in other cases, is. only. 



We strongly suspect, however, that 

 some enterprising proprietors occupy 

 two adjoining shops and, with a laud- 

 able desire of enticing the custom 

 of the impecunious as well as their 

 more favored fellows, they charge a 

 shilling on one side of the dividing 

 wall and " thrippence " more on the 

 other. 



Leaving the elevated promenade we 

 made our way across the wide beach 

 to some rocks jutting out into the 

 water, upon which stands a lighthouse. 

 Fortunately it was almost low-water, 

 and the rocks were bare for a con- 

 siderable distance from the lighthouse. 

 Here and there we picked up a 



stranded jelly-fish, and occasionally 

 a pretty shell, and bits of sea-weed, 

 but there was one large pot-hole in 

 the sandstone, which the tide had left 

 quite full of wa'.er, that was fringed all 

 around with a short growth of beauti- 

 ful red seaweed, specimens of which 

 were collected for future examination. 

 It was one of the beautiful natural 

 aquariums one finds about a rocky 

 coast, but at this time there was noth- 

 ing else left within it. We found 

 nothing more upon the rocks except 

 the barnacles which were abundant 

 on the base of the lighthouse, and as 

 the tide has a long range in the Mer- 

 sey they covered the base of the 

 tower to a greater height than we 

 could reach. 



Strolling away from the lighthouse, 

 an abundance of the common mussels 

 was found, large numbers of which 

 are collected along the beach for food. 

 W^e gathered a few in a handkerchief, 

 and, finding a hillock of clean sand 

 beneath a bold sandstone cliff, sat 

 down there to dissect the animals 

 with the aid of a pocket knife and a 

 common pocket lens. While thus en- 

 gaged, two laboring men came near 

 and one of them asked, " Have you 

 got a crab ? " " No, not a crab," we 

 replied. Looking on a few moments 

 they turned away and one said, " He's 

 a.n2L]isin' a. mouse/.'' Opening the shell 

 carefully, we were soon able to find 

 the different organs, and observe their 

 relative positions. Using the magni- 

 fier the beautiful structure of the 

 ciliated organs with the parallel bands 

 of cilia could be clearly seen, and 

 even the incessant movement of the 

 cilia was distinctly shown by a pecul- 

 iar play of light reflected from the 

 surface of the membranes which were 

 covered with moving cilia. 



The pulsations of the heart were 

 also readily observed under the low- 

 power lens. 



Wherever the microscopist may go 

 there will always be something to at- 

 tract observation, and worthy of 

 notice. 



