proceeds in a strain which marks the downright sincerity of this honest and laborious old naturalist, who had mistaken

the soft parts of the barnacle for a bird. eyes have seen and our hands have touched, we shall declare. There is a small island in Lancashire, called the Pile of Foulders, wherein are found the broken pieces of old and bruised ships, some whereof have been cast thither by shipwreck, and also the trunks and bodies, with the branches of old and rotten trees cast up there likewise, whereon is found a certain spume or froth, that in time breedeth unto certain shells in shape like those of a mussel, but sharper pointed and of a whitish colour; wherein is contained a thing in form like a lace of silk finely woven, as it were, together, of a whitish colour, one end whereof is fastened unto the inside of the shell, even as the fish of oysters and mussels are; the

other end is made fast unto the belly of a rude mass or lump, which in time cometh to the shape and form of a bird: when it is perfectly formed, the shell gapeth open and the first thing that appeareth is the foresaid lace or string; next come the legs of the bird hanging out, and, as it groweth greater, it openeth the shell by degrees, till at length it is all come forth, and hangeth only by the bill. In short space it cometh to full maturity, and falleth into the sea, where it gathereth feathers, and groweth to a fowl bigger than a Mallard and lesser than a Goose."

We may smile at the extravagance of these ideas, and wonder how fancy could have devised such tales. But the wildest stretch of imagination could not venture upon anything more wonderful than the real and simple facts respecting the transformation of these animals.

Before the shelly covering of that Barnacle was secreted, the creature, not fastened as now by its fleshy stalk, was free and locomotive, with members well adapted for swimming, and furnished with one central eye (Fig. 33). The animal of that Acorn-shell, now fixed so immoveably upon the rock, had, at one time, an elliptic figure, two eyes mounted upon footstalks, and six pair

Fig. 33.-YOUNG OF BARNACLE.

of jointed legs, which, keeping stroke like so many oars, propelled it onwards (Fig. 34). At a certain period its erratic habits were laid aside, its future resting-place was selected, and then, attaching itself securely to the place thus chosen, its shelly covering was secreted, and the power of sight, no longer needful Fig. 34—. YOUNG OF ACORN-Shell. for the welfare of the animal, was extinguished for ever.

The figures here given (Fig. 31, 32) of Barnacles, exhibit the pedicle or stalk by which they are attached to floating pieces of timber; and that of the Acorn-shell (Fig. 35) shows the shelly base by which it is fixed to the rock or other body on which it is found. The organs which give to the class the scientific name signifying "curl-footed," are also represented, so that this peculiarity of structure will be easily understood and remembered. These animals were formerly classed among the mollusca, or, to use a more common phrase, the 'shell-fish ;" but in consequence of a better knowledge of their structure and transformations, they now constitute a distinct class.

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The cheapness of the pleasures which natural history affords should of itself form a reason for the general cultivation of such pursuits. They are within the reach of the most humble, and are not dependent on costly apparatus. By means so simple as a glass of sea-water, the Balani or Acorn-shells may be made to exhibit a series of movements,

which, when witnessed by the young, call forth expressions of the most unfeigned delight. Let the reader try the experiment. Go at low water to a rock on the beach, choose a few of the oldest and largest limpets, left uncovered by the receding tide, and encrusted with the Acorn-shells. As the

enclosed animals have then been without nourishment for two or three hours, they will be quite ready for another meal. Throw the limpet shells into a glass of sea-water, and in a minute or two the Acorn-shells upon them will begin to open. Presently a beautiful feathered apparatus (Fig 35) will be extended, then withdrawn. It will again be put forth, and again retracted; but with such grace, regularity, and precision, that the eye regards it "with ever new delight." And when the same exquisite mechanism is exhibited by every one of them, and when we consider that it ministers, at the same moment, both to the function of breathing and to the supply of food, a train of ideas is excited, which rises from the humble shell to HIM by whom it has thus wondrously been fashioned.

CLASS III.-CRABS, LOBSTERS, SHRIMPS, &c.

CRUSTACEA.

Fig. 36.-THELPHUSA.

THE scientific name of the present class has reference to the shelly crust or covering by means of which the Crab and the Lobster are protected. In the smaller species, it bears a resemblance to horn or parchment.

They all breathe by means of gills or branchia. The combination of the jointed limbs, respiration by gills, and distinct sexes, constitute the character of the class, Crustacea.

They are universally diffused, not only throughout the ocean, but through ponds, lakes, ditches, and running waters. In the polar seas they are found in great abundance, though the number of species is very limited. In the equatorial regions, while they are no less numerous, they present a