SEPTEMBER, 1882. 229 



skeleton. No wonder the star-fish are many and 

 corpulent on this stretch of sea-weed covered shore, for 

 the shell-fish are numerous and fat, the tide ever bringing 

 them a plentiful supply of nourishment. As we toss 

 monster after monster shoreward we are apt to look 

 contemptuously at any under a foot as poor wretched 

 creatures, until at length we are constrained to examine 

 a moderate seven-inch fellow, who has the temerity to 

 endeavour to aggrandise himself with only four rays to 

 aid him, in place of the orthodox five. It is bad enough 

 to differ from your fellows among mankind, but to 

 attempt idiosyncrasies among animals is certain annihila- 

 tion, if you come within cognisance of the higher animal. 

 So we take possession of the novelty only to find it is a 

 cripple from its birth, not a proper abnormality, for there 

 is the embryonic indication of a fifth limb one-eighth 

 inch long, that from some unexplained reason has been 

 arrested in development, leaving the other four to carry 

 on the sub-division of the disc among them. 



Not with starfish alone have we met on our shoreward 

 ramble, however, for this is the district in which the 

 famous white scallop dwells, and the tide is low enough 

 to have stranded quite a number of small ones ; and if 

 you use your eyes well you will note a number of mature 

 size among them. These latter have no connection in 

 colour with the little white beauties, perhaps you con- 

 clude, as you observe the deep green colour; indeed, 

 almost black, it is so deep. A closer examination will 

 satisfy you that the number of ribs, the general contour, 

 and the whole character of the dark shell is similar to the 

 white, and the fact that no small dark shells are found 

 will enable you to divine the reason of the difference. 

 The white pectens are almost invariably discovered 



