THE sun was shining brightly, when on the first morning of her visit to Sandrock, Dora found the family at breakfast. Harry, who had been out for an early stroll with his father, was eager to tell how he had seen more than one fishing boat come in, while his sisters reminded Mr. Grange of a promise he had made to take them for a sail.
As the sea was calm, he said, if mamma had no objection, he was quite ready to fulfill the engagement Mrs. Grange having, to the great delight of all, consented to make one of the party, a very pleasant morning was spent on the water, and all returned to their early dinner with bright faces and good appetites.
After dinner Mrs. Grange went to her room to rest till tea time. Dora offered to stay with her aunt, but finding her services were not needed, very gladly joined her uncle and cousins in an afternoon ramble on the shore.
It was quite low water when they got down to the beach, but Mr. Grange told them it was the best time to learn lessons of the wisdom and goodness of God by examining a few of the many objects of interest they were sure to find among the shingles or on the sands.
Small shells and seaweeds there were in plenty, but soon the whole party were gathered round Eva, who had found what she considered a prize, and was holding it up to be admired.
It was a strange-looking object: a soft, round, flat body, from which five arms or rays of almost equal length were reaching out from its sides.
“What is it?" asked the younger children at once.
“I am not quite sure, but I think it must be a starfish. It is like a picture of one in a book I have at home," Dora said in a rather uncertain tone.
“Yes, Eva has found a starfish, and a very curious little creature it is. Shall I tell you its history?" Mr. Grange replied, holding out his hand for it as he spoke.
“But, father," Harry exclaimed eagerly, "I don't think it can be a real fish. It has neither head nor tail, and I am almost sure it can't swim.”
Constance and Dora laughed, but Mr. Grange said, “Harry is right. The starfish has neither head nor tail, eyes nor fins. It is not much of a swimmer, though I believe it can remain for a long time under water, yet it belongs to an order of soft-bodied marine animals which writers on natural history have classed among fishes.
“It has no bones, but very small lumps of lime form a kind of framework for its soft body. Look at its mouth on the under side of the body just in the center.
“Sometimes the starfish will fold one or more of its long arms round a small crab, and draw it toward its mouth. We should say the crab was much too large to be swallowed whole; but the mouth of the starfish seems to grow larger, till at last the prize is comfortably disposed of, shell and all, in the stomach of the starfish. Then all the soft parts of the crab are sucked out by the hungry fish, after which the mouth again expands and the empty shell, often looking very little changed, is turned out.
“The starfish has a great number of feet, though we cannot see any of them just now, as they are all drawn in, and so out of sight. But look closely and you will see round the edge of each arm a double row of very small holes. Through each of these holes the starfish can at will push a tiny foot, hollow underneath. This hollow is of great use to our little friend, as by what is called exhausting the air, it gives a firm footing, and so enables it to walk, without danger of falling, up the steep sloping side of a rock.
“But I think you will be as much interested as I was in hearing of the clever way in which the starfish opens an oyster.”
“Oh, papa, you must be laughing at us now. How could this soft little creature open an oyster?
I tried once for a long time, but had to give it up and I am sure my fingers are stronger than the arms of the starfish.”
“No, I am quite in earnest, Constance. What the starfish lacks in strength it makes up for in patience. When starfishes visit an oyster bed they often do great mischief, but their way of oyster dredging is really very curious.
“A starfish folds its rays round an oyster, and then puts its mouth quite close to the mouth of the oyster. Tiny white bladders then rise round the mouth of the starfish. In this position the patient little creature will often remain for many hours, until the oyster opens its shell to take food. Then the starfish seems to drop into the mouth of the oyster a little of some fluid that has the effect of rendering the oyster unable to close its shell. It then becomes an easy prey to the starfish.”
“That is very interesting, Uncle Edward. I had no idea so much was known about starfishes.
“But did you notice that one of the rays of our specimen is much shorter than the other four? I wonder what is the reason.”
“Nothing is more common, Dora, than to find starfish with one or more of their rays broken or nipped off; but as soon as the old ray is gone, a new one begins to grow, and in time becomes as large as the others. Ours is a very common kind of starfish, and has only five rays. Some have twelve or fourteen rays, but these kinds are not very often found on the sand at low water, but are brought up in the nets of fishermen.
“Now, I think we had better carry our starfish to one of the pools of sea-water left among the rocks by the receding tide; but I trust we shall not forget the lessons it has taught us of the care of God for all the creatures His wisdom and power have created. We cannot study even what we call the lowest forms of plant or animal life without having our hearts drawn out in grateful love and adoring praise to the Creator, for—
“All things bright and beautiful,
All creatures great and small,
All that is wise and wonderful,
The good Lord made them all.'
“But I see Harry has found some new object of interest. What is it, my son?”
“Only a cockle, father; a live cockle, I think. But one side of its shell is almost covered with what look like small shells, though I must say they are not very pretty ones.”
“You have got a fine group of acorn barnacles. I think we had better ask Eva to lend us her pail. We will fill it with sea water and put your cockle in. When we get indoors we can transfer it with some of the water to a thin drinking glass, and place it in the light. We shall then find that these strange looking shells are the homes of living creatures. Acorn barnacles, as these are called, from their shells being in shape something like an acorn with the top cut off, pass through some very wonderful and interesting changes.
“A baby barnacle is what is called a free swimmer, able to move about from place to place; and a very lively little fellow it is, not at all unlike a large water flea, but provided with two pairs of feelers, six legs, a forked tail, and one eye. Its soft body is covered with a thin shell. But you know all healthy babies grow, and in a very few days the young sailor becomes too large for its shell, so casts it off just like an old suit of clothes. Another shell begins to grow, but larger than the old one; but as this, too, soon gets too small, it is thrown off in the same way. A third suit is quickly outgrown, then the barnacle is ready to settle down for the rest of its days.
“But how is this done? The barnacle fixes itself firmly to some shell or piece of rock; a kind of glue which soon becomes very hard comes from its mouth, its six legs are turned into what looks very much like a tiny plume of feathers. Away goes the one eye, and the shell we are now looking at soon forms something like a house with four doors at the top.
“But what is the use of these doors? When we get our barnacles in a good light we shall soon see, if we have a little patience to watch. Two of the doors will open, and we shall see the tiny plume peep out. If we look closer we shall see that what we at first thought feathers are very much like fingers. We see them open and then close as if grasping something. What has the little creature caught? Something too small for our eyes to see, but not too small for that feather-like hand to feel. It was something in the way of food, for the doors are closed again, and the tiny morsel finds its way to the stomach of the barnacle.
“There are several other kinds of barnacles. One is called the ship barnacle. We shall be sure to find some, and it will be easy to know it by its long stalk. But I think we must not begin to talk about it now, but bend our steps homewards, as it is getting late, and tea will be waiting.”
“Oh, Uncle Edward, I shall long remember what a delightful ramble we have had," Dora said, with a grateful look at Mr. Grange, as she took up Eva's basket of beach treasures.