10 LESSON I. 



Teacher. What must they possess in order to 

 be able to feel ? 



Child. Nerves. 



Teacher. I will now read to you a summary 

 of your lesson, and I shall expect you afterwards 

 to write it from recollection. 



Teacher. Mollusks have soft, slimy, cold, 

 fleshy, and contractile bodies. They have no 

 bones, but their shell acts as a support to their 

 frame. They are attached to their shells by 

 muscles, and by them they move their bodies. 

 They are enclosed in a skin called the mantle, or 

 sac, which is full of pores and glands ; and some- 

 times the animal is so completely enveloped in 

 this, as only to present an opening where the 

 mouth is situated ; sometimes it spreads over the 

 shell ; and sometimes it has external expansions 

 answering the purpose of fins. Mollusks have 

 not warm red blood, but a white cold fluid issues 

 from their hearts and circulates through their 

 frames. They have nerves, and consequently 

 feeling ; and this sense seems most acute in their 

 tentacula. Some of these animals have eyes, 

 but others do not enjoy the sense of sight. 

 They appear to have the power of smelling and 

 tasting, but no traces of ears have been dis- 

 covered.* 



* This little summary of the lesson may be read over 

 twice to the children, and they should then be required to 

 write it as well as they can from recollection. It would be 

 desirable also that they should repeat it at the commencement 

 of the succeeding lesson. This plan may appear tedious, 



