ANEMONES AND SPONGES 



383 



way into the oyster-shell. If closely 

 examined, it will be seen that the holes 

 are of two sizes, and that the smaller are 

 by far the more numerous ; while, on 

 carefully splitting the shell open, it will 

 be found that both sized holes communi- 

 cate with irregularly swollen canals, which 

 are occupied by the somewhat yellow- 

 coloured body of the Sponge. If we take 

 one of these shells in- 

 fested with Cliona from 

 a rock pool, and place it 

 in a vessel containing clear 

 sea-water, we can watch 

 the little Sponges expand, 

 and see the water currents 

 passing in and out. 



The branching Sponges, 

 which grow in the form 

 of graceful, slender stems, 

 are well worth seeking, 

 and when seen alive in 

 their natural haunts are 

 very varied in colour, 



the watch-glass about on the stage of the 

 microscope until one of the apertures on 

 the side of the piece of Sponge is in focus, 

 we shall see quite a miniature torrent 

 gushing forth from the opening, bearing 

 minute opaque particles along at a rapid 

 rate. 



A Star-fish left stranded on the shore 

 by the receding tide is a familiar sight 



ROSY FEATHER STAR-FISH. 



some being pale yellow, orange, red, 

 crimson, or a deep purple. To anyone 

 possessing a student's microscope, the 

 Sponges offer most interesting material : 

 their wonderful sj)icules form most beau- 

 tiful objects, while a small portion of 

 a living Sponge, placed in a flat-bot- 

 tomed watch-glass partially filled with 

 sea-water, will present one of the most 

 interesting and remarkable sights that the 

 microscope can reveal to us. If we move 



FIVE-FINGERED AND CUSHION STAR-FISHES. 



Note that on one of the stars new arms are growing to 

 replace lost ones. 



to all who dehght to wander by the sea. 

 It is a singularly helpless-looking animal 

 as it lies on the shore, and one would 

 never suspect that such a limp, flabby 

 creature was capable of doing serious 

 damage, or that it could be the hated foe 

 of anyone. Nevertheless the Common 

 Star-fish is the ancient foe of all oyster 

 fishermen, for it haunts the oyster beds, 

 and devours innumerable oysters. 



Besides the Common Star-fish, which, 

 by the way, has many popular names, 

 such as " Five-fingered Jack," " Old 

 Cramps," and " Devil's Hand," there are 

 many interesting and beautiful specimens 

 to be found. One of the handsomest is 

 the Sun Star-fish {Solastcr papposa), which 

 frequently measures, when full grown, 

 seven or eight inches across. It is a 

 very striking-looking creature, with its 

 numerous ta])ering arms — which remind 

 one of primitive drawings of the sun's 

 rays — and its fine, bright red and white 

 colouring. Amongst the rock pools, and 



