68 MARVELS OF THE ANIMAL WORLD 



end through which the tadpoles are able to emerge 

 and drop into the water. 



It is by no means necessary to visit foreign parts 

 to find curious eggs, for many interesting types are 

 to be met with in this country, especially during a 

 ramble along the sea-shore. There can be few of 

 us who have not, at some time or other, picked up 

 the little sponge-like masses, formed of numerous 

 flattened and roundish capsules, each one containing 

 five or six eggs. These are the egg-cases of the 

 common whelk. Then, again, the eggs of the 

 common sepia or cuttle-fish, which resemble bunches 

 of small black grapes, and feel just as if they were 

 made of indiarubber, are other objects that are 

 often to be found. 



The egg-cases of the dog-fish and the skate, 

 frequently spoken of as ' mermaids' purses,' are 

 also to be seen stranded upon the beach ; those of 

 the former being oblong and narrow in form, 

 yellow in colour, and possessing long curling tendrils 

 growing from their corners, which, when stretched 

 out to their fullest extent, measure about two feet 

 in length ; and those of the latter being dark brown 

 in colour, about half as broad as they are long, and 

 furnished with spike-like projections at their 

 extremities. 



Many fishes are remarkable for the number of 

 eggs they produce ; to mention but a few examples, 

 it is estimated that a cod's roe weighing 7| Ibs. 

 would contain about seven million eggs, and that 

 a salmon would yield 1,000 eggs for every pound 

 of its weight ; while Mr. Lydekker states that 



