NATURALISTS CABINET. 



Powers of reproduction. 



prodigious number of tentacula, or short soft and 

 fleshy tubes, which appear to be of use not only 

 in taking prey, and in aiding the motion of the 

 animal, but also in enabling it to adhere to rocks 

 and other substances, by which it withstands the 

 force of the waves. In a single animal these 

 tentacula have been found above fifteen hundred 

 in number; and, when the star fish are thrown 

 on their backs, these may be observed to be 

 pushed out and withdrawn in the same manner 

 as snails do their horns. The progressive motion 

 of the star fish, which is with their rays, is very 

 slow ; and by the undulation of these they are 

 enabled to swim. They possess considerable 

 powers of reproduction ; for if by any violence a 

 ray is broken off, for most of them are vc % ry 

 brittle, in the course of a short time a new one 

 will appear. The mouth is armed with bony 

 teeth, that are used in seizing and breaking the 

 shells on which the animals feed ; from hence a 

 canal extends to each of the rays, runs through 

 the whole length, and becomes gradually nar- 

 rower as it approaches the extremity. 



We are informed by a late writer, that if the 

 star fish be drowned in brandy or spirits of wine, 

 and the rays kept flat and expanded during the 

 time, it is easy afterward to extract, by means 

 of a pair of forceps, the stomach and intestines, 

 entire through the mouth. 



