THE NEREIS 103 



inside it. Then it "plays" its victim just as 

 an angler "plays" a fish, sometimes stretching 

 its body out to a length of fifteen or twenty 

 feet, then drawing it in again to a length of 

 three or four, and so on over and over again, 

 until its prisoner is quite exhausted, when it 

 proceeds to devour it. 



PLATE XXXIV 

 THE NEREIS (2) 



The Nereis is a very common sea-side worm, 

 and you can nearly always find it by turning 

 over the stones on the shore as the tide goes 

 out It is brown in colour, with a dark red 

 line along the back; and if you look at it in 

 the sunlight you will see flashes of bright blue 

 playing over the surface of its skin. And under- 

 neath it is of the most delicate pink, with a 

 glossy look which reminds one of mother-of- 

 pearl. It is one of the largest of all the worms, 

 for it often grows to a length of nearly two 

 feet 



If you examine the back of a nereis, you will 

 find a row of little tufted organs running right 

 along it Each of these really consists of two 

 little flaps, which are folded together as long 

 as the worm remains still. But as soon as it 



