Seaside Natural History 



93 



must be captured by means of a tow net from a boat. 

 Thirdly, those which live between the limits of low and high 

 tides can be taken in various ways at low water. The best 

 time for adopting the latter course is at spring tides. On this 

 coast the spring low tides always occur in the middle of the 

 day. This fact has the advantage of giving good light, and 

 success in shore-hunting very much depends upon the light. 

 But although spring tides are the best, and many specimens 

 can only be obtained at such times, much can be done with- 

 out waiting even for an ordinary low tide. The subject of 

 marine insects has been very little studied. It affords a 

 fine field for investigation for any entomologist desirous of 

 working a little out of the beaten path. 



"Beginners at shore-hunting are nearly always disappointed 

 with the results. They read Gosse and Kingsley, and they 

 go down to the shore with the idea that every pool into which 

 they look will be as full of anemones, hydroid zoophytes, and 

 all sorts of things as a well-stocked tank in an aquarium. 

 Another cause of disappointment is that they fail to realise 

 how very small many of the animals about which they have 

 been reading are. The drawings they have seen have been 

 highly magnified, and they forget the size of the actual 

 creatures. It is always advisable to take home likely-looking 

 weeds and stones, and, after placing them in shallow dishes, 

 search over them with a pocket lens. It is in this way that 

 many of the best finds are made." 



A great variety of animals classified as Crustaceans occur 

 at the seaside. Crabs, lobsters, shrimps, prawns, king crabs, 

 barnacles, acorn shells, woodlice, &c, belong to this order. 

 They all have a shelly crust which protects the body, and 

 jointed limbs in pairs (five to seven). They all pass through a 

 series of changes before reaching the adult form. 



By far the best manual on Crustacea is that by the Rev. 

 T. R. R. Stebbing, published by Kegan, Paul & Co. 5s. 



