156 WESTERN SERIES OF READERS. 



into new bottles." The Greek word for bottle, 

 from which one name of these creatures is de- 

 rived, means a leather bag; for wine was not 

 kept in glass in Bible times, but in skins. So 

 we may call these creatures, Sea-bottles. 



Some of the sea-bottles are single, and look like 

 a sack with two mouths, one for the water to go 

 in and the other for it to come out. But those 

 most common on our rocks are compound, great 

 numbers of them being attached together. They 

 form a firm, leathery coating, of a gray or yellow 

 color, which may be as thick as your hand. Its 

 edges are rounded, and you can see that it con- 

 tains many little spaces for water. 



Others look like flattened tubes, an inch or two 

 long, and as large around as a pencil. They are 

 almost transparent, but within their bodies you 

 can see a bent pink thread, which gives them an 

 odd appearance. When the tide is out, they hang 

 from the rocks like living fringes. 



And when the tide is low you may find Sea- 

 slugs in little pools or on the seaweeds. These 

 are real mollusks, which never have shells. Some 

 of them may be as large as your finger, while 

 others are no bigger than a steel pen. 



They are very soft to the touch, and their 

 mantles are often beautifully colored, some being 



