OR, PLAIN TEACHING. 



351 



parent, through whose delicate 

 walls may be seen the little cuttle 

 within, very lively, and seemingly 

 anxious for his emancipation. 



I was much amused with the perfect self- 

 possession of a little cuttle-fish that was hatched 

 in my presence. It had not been free from the 

 egg-shell tor one minute before it began a 

 leisurely tour of the vessel in which it first saw 

 the light, examining it on all sides, as if to find 

 oui what kind of a place the world was, after 

 all. It then rose and sank many times in suc- 

 cession over different spots, and after balancing 

 itself for a moment or two over one especial 

 patch of sand, blew out a round hole in the 

 sand, into which it lowered itself, and there lay 

 quite at ease. It executed this movement with 

 as much address as if it had practised the art for 

 twenty years.* 



Mussels, 16, are bivalve mol- 

 luscs, living in strong shells of 

 an oblong triangular form, ter- 



1164. 



minating in a point. The head 

 of the animal is situated towards 

 the point, near the hinge. Mus- 

 sels abound on rocks, and the 

 piles of piers and quays, to 

 which they attach themselves by 

 bunches of strong fibres. When 

 they move, which they sometimes 

 do, they thrust a tongue-like foot 

 out of the shell, and fixing it 

 some way in advance, draw 

 themselves onward. 



Every known part of the world produces 

 what are familiarly termed mussels, and they 

 are generally good for food, and used abun- 

 dantly. But they are said to possess poisonous 

 qualities at certain seasons, resulting probably 

 from some periodical derangement in their own 



* Rev. J. G. Wood * Common Ob t-cts of the S. u 

 Sbore. 



system. . The immense consumption of mussels 

 in the London markets alone, notwithstanding 

 the prejudice existing against them, surpasses 

 all calculation. 



Mussels lay their eggs in the 

 spring : these are minute, and 

 are placed by the parent in a 

 very close but orderly arrange- 

 ment, on the outside of the shell, 

 where they adhere by means of 

 a gluey matter, and increase in 

 size and strength, till, becoming 

 perfect mussels, they fall off, and 

 shift for themselves. Two or 

 three thousand eggs are produced 

 by a single mussel. The mussel 

 is infested by several enemies in 

 its own element ; one of these is 

 a curious shell-fish, which at- 

 taches itself to the shell of the 

 mussel, bores a round hole in it, 

 and then introduces a long tube, 

 through which it sucks the sub- 

 stance of the mussel away. 



The limpet, 17, found abun- 

 dantly upon rocky shores, is the 

 inhabitant of what is termed a 

 univalve shell, 

 somewhat conical 

 in form. Many 

 and very opposite 

 opinions hav. 

 been given tc 

 account for the 

 extraordinary te- 

 nacity with which 

 this animal clings 

 to rocks : it has been ascribed to 

 a viscous juice emitted from the 

 body of the animal. This, how- 

 ever, is highly improbable, judg- 

 ing from our own observations. 

 It appears to us that the limpet 

 has the power of creating an 

 instant vacuum, but the means 

 by which it does so we have 

 been unable to determine. 



11G5. 



