170 HALF AN HOUR WITH SEA-UKCHINS 



the dredge was emptied, the little creatures, writh- 

 ing with the strangest contortions, crept about in 

 all directions, often flinging their arms in broken 

 pieces around them." Further on, in speaking of 

 the " Lingthorn Star " (Luidia fragilissima), which 

 is one of the largest of the tribe, he says : " The 

 first time that I took one of these creatures, I 

 succeeded in placing it entire in my boat. Not 

 having seen one before, and being ignorant of its 

 suicidal powers, I spread it out on a rowing bench, 

 the better to admire its form and colours. On 

 attempting to remove it for preservation, to my 

 horror and disappointment I found only an assem- 

 blage of detached members. My conservative en- 

 deavours were all neutralized by its destructive 

 exertions, and the animal is now badly represented 

 in my cabinet by a diskless arm, and an armless 

 disk ! Next time I went to dredge at the same spot 

 I determined not to be cheated out of my specimen 

 a second time. I carried with me a bucket of fresh 

 water, for which the star-fishes evince a great 

 antipathy. As I hoped, a Luidia soon came up in 

 the dredge a most gorgeous specimen. As the 

 animal does not generally break up until it is raised 

 to the surface of the sea, I carefully and anxiously 

 plunged my bucket to a level with the dredge's 

 mouth, and softly introduced the Luidia into fresh 

 water. Whether the cold was too much for it, or 

 the sight of the bucket too terrific, I do not know, 

 but in a moment it began to dissolve its corporation, 



