351 



NATURE S TEACHINGS. 



noisome a substance as can be imagined — it is clothed with a 

 garment of such, beauty that the rainbow itself can scarcely 

 rival, and not surpass it. The hairs with which it is so pro- 

 fusely covered glitter and sparkle with every imaginable hue, 

 among which red and green seem to be predominant. 



These hairs occupy the sides of the body, but in the upper 

 surface there is a thick coating of felted hairs, interwoven with 

 each other so closely that they can with difficulty be separated. 

 These hairs form a natural filter, strain away the mud from the 

 water, and allow the latter to pour itself upon the organs of 

 respiration. If, therefore, a specimen be examined when it is 



APHRODITE. 



duck's BEAK. 



first brought up by the dredge, the felted hair will always be 

 found to contain a considerable amount of mud, and much 

 washing is needed before the creature can be introduced into 

 an aquarium where the water is intended to be transparent. 



I may here mention that the name of Aphrodite is a singu- 

 larly happy one. It signifies something that arises from the 

 foam of the sea, and was given to the goddess of beauty, 

 because in the ancient myths she was said to have sprung from 

 the foam of the sea. Unpoetical as it may appear, the German 

 word Meerschaum, which is so familiar to us in connection with 

 pipes, is the exact equivalent of Aphrodite. 



Below the Aphrodite is a figure representing the filtering 

 apparatus which is found in the beak of the duck. This sin- 

 gularly beautiful apparatus is well worthy of examination, and 

 the more important details of its structure can easily be made 

 out by the unassisted eye. 



In the first place, the upper half of the beak, or upper 



