THE TEREBELLA. 237 



some force, as anyone knows who has pulled a Caddis larva 

 out of its house. But when the case is fixed, the abdominal 

 claspers of the larva are attached to a pair of long foot-stalks, 

 so that the creature can extend its body to some distance from 

 the entrance of the tube. 



We now come to some animals that build a submarine edifice, 

 somewhat similar in principle to those of the subaquatic Caddis. 

 The first is the well-known Terebella of our coasts, some- 

 times known by the name of Shell-binder. Sandy shoals are 

 the best spots for the Terebella, and in many places there is 

 scarcely a square yard of sand without its inhabitants. Like 

 the serpula, the Terebella constructs tubes, but, unlike that 

 animal, it makes the tubes of a soft and flexible texture, 

 although the materials which it employs are harder than those 

 which are used by the serpula. The Terebella has the art of 

 making its submarine tubes of sand, which it agglutinates 

 together with such wonderful power, that if Michael Scott's 

 impish familiar had only been acquainted with natural history, 

 he might soon liave learned the art of making ropes of seasand, 

 and have turned the tables on his master. 



Should any of my readers be desirous of finding the habitation 

 of a Terebella, he may easily do so by repairing to the nearest 

 sandy shore, and looking under every large stone or piece of 

 rock. There he will probably find some loose tufts of sandy 

 threads, which are fixed to the mouth of a flexible tube, made 

 of the same materials. This tube is the habitation of the 

 Terebella, and by means of a crowbar and a chisel, the animal 

 may generally be procured, together with its home. There are, 

 however, plenty of deserted tubes, and I have often been sadly 

 disappointed by finding that, after a long and laborious digging, 

 nothing but the empty tube was to be found. 



Supposing, however, that a specimen is obtained in an un- 

 injured state, the observer can easily watch its method of house- 

 building, by ejecting it from its tubular home, placing it in a 

 vessel filled with sea-water, and supplying it with a handful of 

 3and. As clearness of the water is an essential part of success. 



