Glimpses of Ocean Life, Or, Rock-pools and the Lessons They Teach

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T. Nelson and Sons, 1860 - Animal behavior - 382 pages

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Page 187 - Beyond the shadow of the ship, I watched the water-snakes : They moved in tracks of shining white, And when they reared, the elfish light Fell off in hoary flakes. Within the shadow of the ship I watched their rich attire; Blue, glossy green, and velvet black, They coiled and swam; and every track Was a flash of golden fire.
Page 181 - Fair angel, thy desire, which tends to know The works of God, thereby to glorify The great Work-Master, leads to no excess That reaches blame, but rather merits praise The more it seems excess, that led thee hither From thy empyreal mansion thus alone, To witness with thine eyes what some perhaps, Contented with report, hear only...
Page 171 - ... imperfectly meet. This inimitable mechanism enables each filament to take up and firmly grasp, at any point of its length, a molecule of sand, or, if placed in a linear series, a row of molecules. But so perfect is the disposition of the muscular fibres at the extreme free end of each filament, that it is gifted with the twofold power of acting on the sucking and the muscular principle.
Page 59 - He forms no bait, nor lays the tempting snare ; But the dull sluggard boasts a crab his friend, Whose busy eyes the coming prey attend. One room contains them, and the partners dwell Beneath the convex of one sloping shell ; Deep in the watery vast the comrades rove, And mutual interest binds their constant love.
Page 307 - The doctor thought this most extraordinary ; but he examined the fish's skull and found it going on all right. He then walked backwards and forwards along the edge of the pond for some time, and the fish continued to swim up and down, turning whenever he turned ; but being blind on the wounded side of its skull, it always appeared agitated when it had that side towards the bank, as it could not then see its benefactor.
Page 122 - And praise his gentle soule and wish it well, And of his friendly facts full often tell. His father dead ! tush, no it was not he, He finds records of his great pedigree ; And tells how first his famous ancestor Did come in long since with the Conquerour.
Page 185 - ... this number. Allowing that one person could count a million in seven days, which is barely possible, it would have required, that 80,000 persons should have started at the creation of the world, to complete the enumeration at the present time...
Page 184 - Islands is the great place of resort for whales ; and at first there is something curious to us in the idea that the Gulf of Mexico is the harvest field, and the Gulf Stream the gleaner which collects the fruitage planted there, and conveys it thousands of miles off to the hungry whale at sea. But how perfectly in unison is it with the kind and providential care of that great and good Being which feeds the young ravens when they cry, and caters for the sparrow ! 66.
Page 185 - From soundings made in the situation where these animals were found, it is probable the sea is upwards of a mile in depth ; but whether these substances occupy the whole depth is uncertain. Provided, however, the depth to which they extend be but 250 fathoms, the above immense number of one species may occur in a space of two miles square.

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