46 HOMES TINDER THE SEA. 



his fingers and breaks the shells, but they still remain 

 obstinately closed. 



Now, strange as it may seem, the worst of the oyster's 

 foes destroy it by forcing its shells apart before they 

 eat it, and these foes are popularly known as STAR- 

 FISHES. 



The name, by the way, is a very unfortunate one, the 



Fig. 1. JTVE-FIXGEREU STABFJSH. 



French word Etoiles de Mer, or Sea Stars, being far 

 superior, as it conveys no idea of fish. 



With us, the word is used in the loosest possible 

 manner. Oysters, periwinkles, limpets, whelks, lobsters, 

 crabs, and shrimps, are all termed "shell-fish." Then 

 there are the jelly-fishes, and now we have the star- 

 fishes. Even the whales are called fish, and when 

 a party goes to hunt seals, they are said to go seal- 

 fishing ! 



Let us take the most common of thfe starfishes, the 



