SEAWORMS, SEAWEEDS, AND OTHER SEA-THINGS. 139 



on the sand, but when I touched them they dis- 

 appeared. I was frightened at first, but I dug 

 with my spoon and soon came to this worm. 

 He seems to be almost covered with these hairs; 

 but they are alive, and not like common hairs. 



You are quite right; only the creature is per- 

 fectly harmless, and there is nothing about him 

 to be afraid of. His true name is Cirratulus, but 

 if you do not wish for so long a word, we may call 

 him the Hairy Seaworm, for that means about 



Figure 82. 



the same. He is a burrowing worm, and much 

 resembles his near relative, the common earth- 

 worm of our gardens. Though they seem so 

 lowly, their internal structure is very interesting. 



But why does the seaworm have long hairs, 

 while the earthworm is smooth? 



What you call hairs are not hairs at all, but 

 little living tubes, full of blood. In fact, they are 

 his gills, and in these his blood is purified. The 

 earthworm does not need them, for his blood 

 takes oxygen directly from the air, through his 

 soft skin. 



