THE WONDEES OF THE SHORE. 73 



Ugly, little worm as lie seems. Tor finding the 

 mouth of the Turritella too big for him, he has 

 plastered it up with sand and mud (Heaven alone 

 knows how), just as a wry-neck plasters up a hole 

 in an apple-tree, when she intends to build therein, 

 and has left only a round hole, out of which he 

 can poke his proboscis. A curious thing is this 

 proboscis, when seen through the field-glass. You 

 perceive a ring of tentacles round the mouth, for 

 picking up I know not what ; and you will perceive, 

 too, if you watch it, that when he draws it in, he 

 turns mouth, tentacles and all, inwards, and so 

 down into his stomach, just as if you were to turn 

 the finger of a glove inward from the tip till it 

 passed into the hand ; and so performs, every time 

 he eats, the clown's as yet ideal feat, of jumping 

 down his own throat.* 



So much have we seen on one little shell. But 

 there is more to see close to it. Those yellow 

 plants which I likened to squirrels' tails and lob- 



* Plate II. Fig. 1, represents both parasites on the dead 

 Turritella. 



