1891 OBJECTS OF THE SEA-SHORE 205 



Please think over this. My objection to " Trans- 

 formist" is very strong. 



In August his youngest daughter wrote to him to 

 find out the nature of various "objects of the sea- 

 shore " which she had found on the beach in South 

 Wales. His answers make one wish that there had 

 been more questions. 



HODESLEA, EaSTBOURXE, 



Aug. 14, 1891. 

 Dearest Babs — 1. "Ornary" or not "omary" B is 

 merely A turned upside down and viewed with the im- 

 perfect appreciation of the mere artistic eye ! 



2. Your little yellow things are, I expect, egg-cases of 

 dog whelks. You will find a lot of small eggs inside 

 them, one or two of which grow faster than the rest, and 

 eat up their weaker brothers and sisters. 



The dog whelk is common on the shores. If you look 

 for something like this [sketch of a terrier coming out of 

 a whelk shell], you vaU. be sure to recognise it. 



3. Starfish are not born in their proper shape and 

 don't come from your whitish yellow lumps. The thing 

 that comes out of a starfish egg is something like this 

 [sketch], and swims about by its cilia. The starfish 

 proper is formed inside, and it is carried on its back 

 this-ims. 



Finally starfish drops off carrying with it t'other one's 

 stomach, so that the subsequent proceedings interest 

 t'other one no more. 



4. The ropy sand tubes that make a sort of banks and 

 reefs are houses of worms, that they build up out of sand, 

 shells, and .slime. If you knock a lot to pieces you will 

 find worms inside. 



5. Now, how do I know what the rooks eat ? But 

 there are a lot of unconsidered trifles about, and if you 



