STAR-FISHES. 39 



times successful. Very often, especially when there 

 - has only been one ray inserted, the frightened Oyster 

 grasps it with all his might, and obliges his discom- 

 fited opponent to retire minus a limb. 



If the writer might venture to suggest an opinion, 

 he would express his belief that the following is the 

 correct account of the state of matters. He believes, 

 with the fishermen, that frequently the Star-fish 

 begins his attack by merely inserting one arm ; but 

 he does not believe that the Oyster ever, under such 

 circumstances, escapes with life. Let us suppose the 

 Star-fish to have succeeded in insidiously introducing 

 a ray within the shell of the apathetic Oyster, and 

 that the Oyster immediately resented such intrusion 

 by closing his shell with all the force he can exert. 

 The opposite argument at this stage is, that the in- 

 truder is obliged from pain to abandon his hold, and 

 even to pay for his audacity by the forfeit of a limb. 

 But against this we advance the notorious fact, that 

 the Star-fish, like so many marine creatures of a 

 similar organisation, is remarkably indifferent to pain. 

 In short, I believe the true explanation to be, that 

 the Oyster cannot sustain such continued muscular 

 exertion for nearly so long a period as the Star-fish 

 can tolerate pain, and that, consequently, the latter is 

 in the long run successful. 



Before concluding this chapter, I must observe 

 that dried specimens of the Star-fish are very inter- 

 esting objects to look at, especially when held before 

 the light of a window or a moderator lamp. The 



