AUGUST, 1881. 45 



door-plates, they never before appeared as they did that 

 day the prevailing life of the rocky shore. 



In front of us, on the long muddy foreshore at low tide, 

 the traversing stream is at present literally black with 

 minute crustaceans, and all the " dubs " left by the tide 

 are in a similar condition. These belong to the Mysida, 

 and afford just now a most interesting subject for close 

 examination. They are stalk-eyed crustaceans, and the 

 great eyes for such a small creature are the most pro- 

 minent features they have. We sweep the hand net 

 along, and gather a number, but they are very small, so 

 the net is laid flat in the advancing stream of sea water, 

 and soon the larger ones are hurried inward in multitudes, 

 for all life washes shorewards with the entering tide, and 

 they bring activity along with them, too, for it requires a 

 smart movement of the net to gather those that cross over 

 it. A certain number thus collected of those that looked 

 bulkiest in the water we remove to a tumbler, and 

 endeavour to examine them. They are mostly too 

 gelatinous for us to see them properly, but we pick 

 out two with darker markings, and bring a lens to bear 

 upon them. The great eyes are very remarkable, while 

 the long probosci are equally so, and beyond these the 

 delicate antennae stretch so fine as to be scarcely visible 

 under the strong lens. Quite miniature lobsters they are, 

 only the tail flap does not fold under them, but they are 

 doubled-up at the middle like an old man. This gives 

 them the shape ordinarily of a boomerang. Their ciliated 

 legs in front inclosed in many instances a large semi- 

 transparent sac of very tough membrane, and this, when 

 opened, showed a series of strangely shaped objects, not 

 unlike Prince Rupert's drops, or better, as a friend 

 suggested, " like a lot of commas." These proved to be 



