72 GLIMPSES OF NATURE. 



by the sea than in lounging in those cosy rests on the 

 parade above. 



Away Hastings and Pevensey way, the sand 

 stretches smooth and inviting ; towards Beachy Head, 

 you come upon rocks and stones, which form a haunt 

 of not a few species of anemones and other sequestered 

 beings. So, setting our faces to the wind, we start 

 on our pilgrimage, leaving footprints on the sands of 

 Eastbourne as we trudge manfully down to where the 

 waves, with something of spent fury from last night's 

 storm, still break in surf upon the shore. 



This stretch of bare sand looks anything but promis- 

 ing for natural history students; yet among the flotsam 

 and jetsam of the waves there are prizes to be picked 

 up, often in large numbers. We are in luck's road 

 this morning, for here, at our feet, the sea has tossed 

 on shore a curious organism, which, at first sight, 

 looks like a spiny apple or orange. That is an 

 Echinus or sea-urchin the " sea hedgehog " of the 

 ancients, as its scientific name implies. It is a glo- 

 bular mass, this we have found, bristling with spines, 

 and, like an orange or the world itself somewhat 

 flattened at the poles. Looking carefully between the 

 spines you can see the shell, or limy case, in which the 

 soft parts of the animal are contained ; and when we 

 arrive at home we shall drop it into that aquarium in 

 which our Eastbourne friends delight, and notice how 

 life progresses within the sea-urchin's domain. 



Meanwhile, we may discuss the nature of the 

 Echinus-body on which we have thus stumbled by a 

 lucky chance. That starfish you see on the beach is 

 a near neighbour of the sea-urchin, although the rela- 

 tionship may not be apparent on a superficial acquaint- 

 ance with the two animals. The type of body is, 



