148 ANECDOTE. 



your finger on the top, and draw the tube out of 

 the water, and you will be able to deposit the skin 

 of the Barnacle upon a slip of glass by merely lifting 

 off your finger. The specimen can then be leisurely 

 arranged, and spread out by aid of a hand lens and 

 fine pointed needles. 



Walking by the sea shore -one fine summer after- 

 noon, I met a fisher boy running along with some 

 curious objects spread out in the palm of his left 

 hand, while in his right, suspended from finger and 

 thumb, appeared a still more desirable prize. 



At first glance I detected the objects to be speci- 

 mens of the Lepas anatifera. They had, so the 

 boy stated in answer to my inquiries, been plucked 

 from the base of a ship newly arrived from a long 

 voyage. When I offered him sixpence for the 'lot/ 

 the embryo plougher of the deep looked up in my 

 face with a singularly mistrustful expression, and said, 

 'D'ye mean it, sir?' I gave speedy assurance of my 

 sincerity, and on receiving the purchase money, after 

 handing over the Barnacles to my custody, the young 

 urchin started off as fast as his legs, encased in huge 

 wading boots, would allow him. His alarm was 

 quite unnecessary, for although in a few days after 

 I would not have given a penny for a thousand, I 

 would willingly, on the above occasion, have paid 

 five shillings for a single specimen, rather than have 

 missed the opportunity of possessing such an interest- 

 ing object as the Ship Barnacle. 



