112 THE HALL OF SHELLS. 



When young it grows upon a stem and waves 

 in tlie sea as an aster — which it sometimes imi- 

 tates in color as well as form— waves in the 

 breezes. When it becomes fully developed it 

 finds itself free from the restraining stem and 

 floats out into the watery world at will or 

 catches to stones, shells, and seaweeds by its 

 feathery arms, holding with such tenacity that 

 it would seem each bit of feather concealed a 

 claw. 



"You have heard how starfish delight in 

 living upon mussel and oyster beds, being ex- 

 ceedingly destructive to the latter. If the 

 oyster refuses to open its doors to Mr. Starfish, 

 Mr. Starfish has a way of his own of opening 

 them ; and if the oyster still remains obdurate 

 and refuses to be eaten, the starfish accommo- 

 dates himself to circumstances and projects his 

 stomach about the oyster and sucks in the soft 

 parts. The stomach is capacious, extending its 

 lobes into each arm or ray. 



"Another relative of my lady fair — the 

 stone lily — possessing her family traits but not 

 always her charming attractiveness, is the Holo- 

 tliurian or sea cucumber. We do not observe 

 in this unattractive specimen the delicate plates 

 around insulated rounded cavities. Yet natu- 

 ralists tell us the leathery exterior of the sea 



