io8 kouRS WITH NATURE. 



possess blood-vessels in which colourless blood circulates; 

 (6) they have a nervous system ; and in the starfishes (<:) 

 simple eyes are placed at the tips of the rays, these eyes 

 being so small that it is difficult to trace them. 



" A look at the animals displayed in these cases will 

 show how varied are their forms. Some have a flat 

 central disc with five regular flat pointed rays. On the 

 under surface of the disc at its centre is the large 

 mouth.- There are others which have so many as thir- 

 teen or even twenty-one rays instead of five. The, 

 animals are called Starfishes, which are found at all 

 depths of the sea, from the tide-mark down to three- 

 thousand fathoms deep. What do you think these 

 animals live upon? The shallow-water species live upon 

 the mollusks and the smaller crustacians, which they 

 find in abundance in rocks, reefs, and beds of hard sand, 

 which form their congenial habitation. The deep-water 

 ones gorge themselves with the ooze of the ocean 

 bottom, where they have their habitation, for the sake 

 of minute particles of living or dead animal matter. 



" There are a great many other kinds of Echinoder- 

 matous animals all named in reference to their forms 

 and character. The Brittle Starfishes which flourish 

 best in the tropical seas ; the Sea Lillies and 

 Feather-stars, here represented, are all from the Indian 

 seas. The Sea-urchins and Sea-eggs are found in all 

 seas and at all depths. The Sea-cucumbers are also found 

 in all seas and at all depths. The Chinese are said to be 



