28 THE SEA-SHORE 



to the rocks, for they can crawl about quite as 

 easily as snails can, by means of that soft, fleshy 

 part of the body which we call the "foot." And if 

 you take them home alive, and put them into 

 an aquarium, you may often see them creeping up 

 and down the glass sides, through which you can 

 examine their bodies quite easily. 



PLATE XI 

 THE KEY-HOLE LIMPET (2) 



There are a good many different kinds of 

 limpets, of which one of the most curious is the 

 Key-hole Limpet. It is generally found in rather 

 deep water, but you may sometimes find it cling- 

 ing to the rocks just above low- water mark. You 

 must choose a season of "spring-tide," however, 

 for then the tide goes farther out than usual, and 

 leaves behind it a good many creatures which at 

 other times one hardly ever sees. 



The shell of this creature is rather stouter than 

 that of the common limpet, and has a number of 

 ridges running down it from the peak to the 

 margin. Even by these you can tell it at once. 

 But if you look at it closely, you will also find that 

 just at the top of the peak there is a hole shaped 

 rather like a key-hole. Through this hole the 

 animal squirts out the water which has passed 



