12 THE SEA-SHORE 



of the sea is sandy. And the skin of the upper 

 side of its body, instead of growing dark brown, 

 like the colour of mud, becomes speckled and 

 spotted like the surface of sand. The fish is 

 always very careful indeed to conceal itself, for 

 even when the sea-bottom is sandy it ,does not lie 

 upon the surface, but wriggles its way right down 

 into the sand, only leaving just its eyes and a 

 small part of its head above it. 



You can always tell a plaice when you see it 

 by the bright reddish-yellow spots upon the upper 

 side of its body and its fins. And besides these, it 

 always has a row of little bony knobs on the upper 

 side of its head. You can catch it just as you can 

 catch flounders, by paddling in the sea. But the 

 plaice which are caught in this way are always 

 quite small ones, for the bigger fish, which some- 

 times weigh as much as twelve or even fifteen 

 pounds, live in the deeper water at some little 

 distance from the shore. 



PLATE VI 

 THE EGG OF THE SKATE (i) 



Very often indeed, as you walk along the sea- 

 shore, you will find a curious object which the 

 fishermen generally call a " mermaid's purse." It 

 is about three inches long and two inches wide, 

 and is made of a black, horny substance, so tough 



