30 Life Beneath the Waves. 



stem will be noticed amongst its plumes; 

 when the Annelid draws back its feathery 

 tufts, this little cork goes into the shell 

 last, and acts as a stopper to the opening 

 of the tube; and when the gills are pro- 

 truded, the cork makes its appearance 

 first, as a matter of course. Every Ser- 

 pula has two horns or antennae, the one 

 being ornamented with this tiny cork the 

 other being shorter, and, as a rule, devoid 

 of any such " terminal cone" (as a well- 

 known naturalist denominates the stopper). 

 But I have occasionally found Serpuke 

 with a stopper on each of the antennas, and 

 upon examining the movements of these 

 specimens through a magnifying glass, I 

 observed that when the feathery plumes 

 were withdrawn, one of the little corks 

 followed slightly behind the other; and 

 when the gills were again protruded, the 



