LWhirrhiihwrHs. w i\i)<n\ (.uorrs 41 



by an rnlai'.ncd colored j)hot()^rai)hic t raiis|)ai"('iicy. Id the toi-('<!;rouii(l 

 the sliallow water of the liarl)oi" near the slioi-c is rcprc- 



Marine Worm scntcd in section to exi)ose the animal life found on iniiddx 



Group bottoms anion«2; the eel-urass, as well as the chinme\s of 



\arious worm-burrows. In the lowei- i)art of the <2;roui) 



a scH'tion of the sea bottom exi)oses the woi'ms within the buri'ows. 



Several species of ihese are represented. 



In the Mollusk Alcove window is shown the natui'al history of a 



sand-s))it at Cold Si^rinji; Harbor, Long Island, includinji; some of the 



shore nioUusks and their associates. T\\v entrance of the 



,^ „ , harbor is seen in the distance. In the forei>Tound at the 



Mollusk . ^ 



QrQup (Hl<2;e of the sand-spit a mussel-bed is exposed by the reced- 



ing tide over which fiddler-crabs are swarming into their 

 burrows. Beneath the water surface an oyster is being attacked })y a 

 star-fish, while crabs and moUusks of various species are pursuing their 

 usual activities. 



The window group in the Vertebrate Alcove shows the piles of an old 

 wharf at Vineyard Haven, Mass. Below the low-tide 

 Wharf Pile mark the submerged piles are covered with flower-like 

 Group colonies of invertebrate animals. Among these are sea- 



anemones, tube building worms, hydroids, mussels, sea- 

 mats and several kind of ascidians or sea-squirts. The latter are prim- 

 itive members of the Chordate group which includes the vertebrates. 

 Like the embryo of man, they possess during their larval period a 

 chorda or cartilaginous spine. At first they are free swimming but 

 later in life many of their organs degenerate and they become fitted to 

 a stationary mode of life. 



Other exhibits illustrate certain facts made clear by Darwin. On the 



right and left of the entrance variation under domestic- 



, ation is illustrated by dogs, pigeons, and domesticated 



Domestication fowls, the wild species from which they have been derived 



being show^n in company wdth some of the more striking 



breeds derived from them. 



The struggle for existence is portrayed l\v the meadow mouse, 

 I Struggle for surrounded by its many enemies and yet continuing to 

 Existence maintain an existence V)y virtue of its great birth rate. 



[Return to the elevators. \ 



