130 JOURNAL AND PROCEEDINGS 



represented in my cabinet by an armless disk and diskless arm. 

 Next time I went to dredge on the same spot I determined not to 

 be cheated out of a specimen in such a way a second time. I 

 brought with me a bucket of cold, fresh water, to which article star- 

 fishes have a great antipathy. As I expected, a luidea came up in 

 the dredge — a most gorgeous specimen. As it does not generally 

 break up before it is raised above the surface of the sea, cautiously 

 and anxiously I sunk the bucket to a level with the dredge's mouth, 

 and proceeded to introduce luidea to the purer element. Whether 

 the cold air was too much for him, or the sight of the bucket too 

 terrific, I know not, but in a moment he proceeded to dissolve his 

 corporation, and at every mesh of the dredge his fragments were 

 escaping. In despair I grasped at the largest, and brought up the 

 extremity of an arm with its terminating eye, the spineous eyelid of 

 which opened and closed with something exceedingly like a wink of 

 derision." 



The Common Cross-fish^ so destructive to oyster beds, is often 

 dredged minus one of its five fingers. The fishermen suppose that 

 it had incautiously inserted the lost member between the valves of 

 the oyster, and had it amputated. This was proved to be a popular 

 error years ago. The star smothers the bivalves by enclosing the 

 valves until it is forced to open its shell. This statement of an eye 

 witness bears out what Professor Forbes said on the subject in the 

 main. The Professor seems to think, however, that the star fish 

 may paralyze his victim by injecting a poisonous fluid. That per- 

 haps may be erroneous. We must not forget at the same time, that 

 the mytilus (mussel) proves poisonous at times, and medical experts 

 attribute this to their feeding on the eggs of the stars. [A well- 

 known writer for a paper in Dublin recently lost his wife and three 

 children from eating mussels. J 



The Goniasters I had nearly omitted altogether. They ap- 

 proach the sea urchins ; the rays or arms are shortened. Many of 

 the Bahama stars would recall this group to recollection, proba- 

 bly. Other Genera, recently established, are unknown to me. I 

 have not seen the figures, and one cannot form a correct idea from 

 description alone. As regards the fossil star-fishes of the Cambro- 

 silurian and our local rocks, all I obtained were small, two were 

 exceedingly minute. The Palasterina Jamesii of the Cincinnati 

 group (Hudson River) is said to be four inches across. A Tceriiastet^ 



