280 HABITS OF THE U. RUBENS. 



body round, so as to get another regiment of suckers 

 into play, and, by such plan of operations being 

 repeated, the animal is eventually enabled to ' right 

 itself/ and crawl up the polished surface of the glass. 



Generally, when the Star-fish is disturbed, or 

 placed on a dry piece of stone, the suckers are with- 

 drawn into the body, leaving no signs of their pre- 

 vious existence except a series of minute tubercles. 

 In fact, the Asterias, although enabled to adhere 

 with great tenacity to any foreign object when im- 

 mersed in water, possesses but little power to retain 

 its hold if the fluid be removed. Hence the young 

 zoologist, keeping this peculiarity in mind, should 

 not too hurriedly return a verdict of * Found dead/ 

 when he meets with a helpless specimen upon the 

 beach, for in all likelihood, were the creature to be 

 laid for a few minutes in a rock-pool, it would soon 

 exhibit signs of returning animation. 



A simpler, though not so sure a test for ascertaining 

 whether a Star-fish be living or not, is to handle the 

 specimen. If it feel soft and flabby, it is dead ; but 

 if tolerably firm to the touch, it may be ' recalled to 

 life/ by the means pointed out. 



It may not be out of place to chronicle here a 

 singular circumstance which the writer has often 

 verified in connection with the true Star-fishes. It 

 is this. When any captured specimens have been 

 placed in confinement, no matter how large or small 

 such might be, they never moved through the liquid 



