172 THE BLACK SAND-WORM. 



Smallmontli. The Primrose still lingers in the lane 

 leading up from Hele, but is almost replaced by the 

 greater Stitchwort, and the red Campion ; the pretty 

 Milkwort is sprawling profusely over the banks, with its 

 heads of delicate pink blossoms ; the ramping Fumi- 

 tory, with flowers more than usually rich in colour, 

 occurs, and even the spikes of the common Bugle are 

 attractive to the eye, though the plant is somewhat 

 coarse on examination. In the little grove above 

 Watermouth, the wild Hyacinth is still profuse, and 

 the purple Orchis is abundant, and many of its spikes 

 particularly fine, both in the size and number of their 

 constituent blossoms. In a pond, the Water-crowfoot 

 was filling the margins witli its many-spht leaves, and 

 its unpretending little white flowers. At the shore I 

 found under a stone a species of Arenicola, an uncouth 

 creature, of a deep black hue, or rather what a tailor 

 would call '' invisible green." It is about six inches 

 long, and \ inch in greatest thickness, which is nearest 

 the head, but not abruptly. The whole is divided 

 into 28 segments, each consisting of 6 annuli, of which 

 the foremost on each segment is stouter, and preceded 

 by a deeper incision than the rest. The 16 posterior 

 segments are furnished with branchial tufts, and pen- 

 cils of bristles; the former are two on each large 

 annulus, on the dorsal aspect ; they are protrusile, and 

 consist of a great number of short filaments, incurved, 

 which have the power of independent motion. When I 

 first examined it, these little filaments were freely 

 pushed out and retracted, and moved with a sort of 

 grasping action; but after a day or two they were 

 still. They were largest near the tail, gradually dimin- 



