A GROUP OF ROCK-LOVERS. 19 



chiefly of the soft vegetable matter that is found 

 so abundantly on the sides of the rocks which fur- 

 nish them with a camping-ground. With their 

 little tongues they can easily rasp off food enough 

 to satisfy their appetites, after which they have 

 plenty of time for rest and meditation. 



Some limpets camp on the stems of the big 

 seaweeds, and have a jolly time rocking back and 

 forth as the weeds are swayed and tossed by the 

 waves. But most of them prefer a solid founda- 

 tion, especially selecting those rocks which are left 

 bare a part of the day, when the tide is low. 



A few, like the one in the picture (Figure 1), 

 creep up so high that they are 

 seldom covered with water, and 

 seem to prefer the occasional 

 splashing of the spray to a real 

 all-over bath. Perhaps you have 

 known children who were in- 



Figure 1. 



clined to sympathize with them. 



The color of this little limpet's tent is a mottled 

 gray, and as he generally lives on granite rocks, it 

 is sometimes difficult to distinguish his shell from 

 a little knob of rock. You will be surprised to 

 notice how many creatures in this world are pro- 

 tected in some degree by the likeness of their 

 covering to their surroundings. 



