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12 



Marvels of the Universe 



IBil Tlieo. Cnrreras.^ -■ 

 SEA-SLUGS. 



The two Sea-Slugs here represented of the natural size are the Bushy-bacUed Slug 

 (upper> and Homberg's Triton (lower). The branching plumes that ornament their 

 baclcs are extensions of the liver. Those of Homberg's Triton closely resemble the 

 polyps of Deadman's Fingers, upon which the Slug feeds : and the Bushy-backed 

 Slug might be mistaken for a cluster of red-brown seaweeds. 



])resent time the plant is 

 gathered in quantity as having a 

 commercial value. It is steeped 

 in water until the outer tissues 

 decay and can be washed off 

 with ease. Then it is dried 

 and used as a good substitute 

 for horsehair in the stuffing of 

 cushions and mattresses. 



\A'e have referred to the up- 

 right-growing aloe-hke species. 

 There is an interesting point 

 concerning them which is worth 

 mentioning. The bases of their 

 leaves are dilated, so that, 

 growing in rosette fashion, they 

 form vases in which, during 

 rainy periods, they collect a 

 good deal of water, which helps 

 to tide the plants over the dry 

 seasons. A water-weed, one 

 of the bladderworts — of which 

 several species are well-known 

 in this country for the traps 

 they bear for the capture of 

 minute pond life — has found 

 its way to these elevated 

 cisterns, and by throwing out 

 runners, connects several of 

 these plants together, and there 

 preys upon the small insects 

 that fall into the water. 



The marvel here is, that a 

 small weak plant whose nearest 

 relations inhabit ponds and 

 ■ ditches should presumably have 

 changed its habitat so greatly 

 as to have become, so to speak, 

 an air plant whilst remaining 

 an aquatic plant. 



BEAUTIFUL SLUGS OF THE SEx\ 



BY EDWARD STEP, F.L.S. 



SonE of the most beautiful forms in which life manifests itself are utterly unknown to the vast 

 majority of mankind ; and strange to say, one may search in vain in the ordinary natural-history 

 books for any adequate representation or description of these subjects. The Slugs of the sea are 

 in this category. Even the great Darwin, who was struck by the quaint beauty of these creatures 

 and thought it must bear some intimate relation to their life and habits, could not obtain from the 



