50 
ANIMAL LIFE ON THE 
and in early summer the young, from less than the size of a 
barley pile to that of a walnut, are to be found in goodly 
numbers beneath the larger stones. 
How they are able to squeeze themselves into such 
unlikely places without injuring their protruding spines 
may be something of a puzzle ; but these are their birth- 
places and homes for a time, and there they can generally 
find abundance of food in worm life, sand jumpers, and 
numerous other little animals, to suit the requirements of all 
stages, until they are fit for the migratory life of the shore. 
Our captive is rather large for depositing in our clear 
glass bottle of sea water; but here is one, happily, crawling 
across the bottom of this little pool at our feet. Lifted from his 
native element, the rosy-tipped spines become as rigid as the 
stones, and the creature instantl}^ seems a thing without life ; 
but dropped again into the water in the bottle, he very 
speedily exhibits the array and splendour of his wonderful 
exterior. 
Laying the bottle on its side, without allowing the water 
to escape, and gradually raising it to its upright position, the 
creature can be placed adhering to the side in a good 
position for viewing. Applying the lens, then, like a vast 
forest of bare poles, the spines all over the shell are seen 
rocking about in every dirt ction, each one having a separate 
and distinct motion of its own. After a little study it will 
be seen that the spines in ten separate bands stud the whole 
sphere, running from centre to centre in curving lines. 
1 hese bands are of two sizes, five each, one being about 
two-thirds larger than the other, while on each side of the 
smaller ones an almost plain strip of shell, about half the size 
of the lesser band, pierced with multitudinous holes, also 
runs from top to bottom. From these small holes, almost 
imperceptible to the naked eye, even in the largest size, a 
