174 HABITS OF THE LINGTHORN. 



rows of longer spines. The suckers are very long and 

 active. The colour is an orange or brick-red on the 

 upper surface, and on the lower a pale yellow. But the 

 most curious circumstance connected with this Star-fish, 

 and which indicates an analogy to the Brittle Stars, is 

 the power which it possesses of breaking itself to pieces 

 under the influence of rage or despair. Professor Forbes 

 gives the following amusing account of its propensities : 

 "Never having seen one before, and quite unconscious 

 of its suicidal powers, I spread it out on a rowing bench, 

 the better to admire its form and colours. On attempt- 

 ing to remove it for preservation, to my horror and dis- 

 appointment I found only an assemblage of rejected 

 members : my conservative endeavours were all neutral- 

 ized by its destructive exertions, and it is now badly 

 represented in my cabinet by an armless disc and a 

 discless arm. Next time I went to dredge on the same 

 spot, determined not to be cheated out of a specimen in 

 such a way a second time, I brought with me a bucket 

 of cold fresh-water, to which article Star-fishes have a 

 great antipathy. As I expected, a Luidia came up in 

 the dredge, a most gorgeous specimen. As it does not 

 generally break up before it is raised above the surface 

 of the sea, cautiously and anxiously I sunk my bucket 

 to a level with the dredge's mouth, and proceeded in the 

 most gentle manner to introduce Luidia to the purer 

 element. Whether the cold air was too much for him, 

 or the sight of the bucket too terrific, I know not; but 

 in a moment he proceeded to dissolve his corporation, 

 and at every mesh of the dredge his fragments were 

 seen escaping. In despair I grasped at the largest, and 



