had washed it up, and then receding, had left it there upon the sand.

3. While they were looking at this strange object, and wondering what it was the gentleman came up to lock, too.

4. "Ah!" said he, "you have found a radiute."

5. Is that the name of it, sir?" asked Jane.

6. "That is the name of the class of animals that it belongs to," replied the gentleman. "They commonly call this particular fish a star-fish, because it is in the shape of a star."

7. "I don't think that is a very pretty name, said Emma.

8. "It has a much prettier name," said the gentleman, "though it is rather harder to remember, for it is a kind of Latin name. It is the asterias."

9. "That is a very pretty name," said Emma. 10. "You must try to remember it," said the gentleman. "And remember, too, that it is what they call a radiated animal

11. "There are a number of different classes of animals, entirely unlike each other in the manner in which they are made. There are back-boned animals, and jointed-shelled animals, and radiated animals."

12. "I don't think those are very pretty names, either," said Jane.

13. "No," said the gentleman. "They have prettier names, but they are harder to remember.

14. "The jointed-shelled animals, like the lobster, are called articulates. Articulate means jointed together.

15. "The back-boned animals are called vertebrates. Vertebrate means a joint of a back-bone.

16. "A fish is a vertebrate, and so is a dog, and so is a bird, and so is a man. They all have back-bones.

17. "But a lobster and a crab have no backbone, but are jointed-shelled, and so they are articulates.

18. "So all insects are articulates, because they have no back-bone within their bodies, but only a jointed shell outside, though this shell is very thin and delicate.

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19. But these radiates have no back-bone, and no jointed shell, either. The parts of their bodies go out every way from the centre to the circumference, like rays from the sun, and so they are called radiates.

20. "There are a great many kinds of radiated animals that live in the sea, and you may perhaps find some more of them along the shore."

21. So saying, the gentleman passed on, leaving the two girls to look at the asterias a little longer, and then they went on, too.

A

I.

LL among the slippery rocks,
Wetting shoes and spoiling frocks,
See Frank, and May, and little Flo!
Net in hand, they cunning look
In each sea-weed hidden nook,
And watch the prawns dart to and fro.

II.

"Catch them-catch them quick!" cries May. "Hold the net down-that's the way,

Just as the fisherman would do."

In the water, Frank, knee deep,

Sinks his net and makes a sweep,

And some are caught, and some leap through.

III.

"Will they bite me?" falters Flo.
Braver May replies, "Oh no!

Now, hold the basket-that's the thing.
Shut the lid, or out again

They'll jump back; and what would Jane
Say, if no supper home we bring?"

IV.

The prawns they swim, the prawns they leap; But suddenly the pool gets deep,

And little Flo calls out to May.

The rising tide has nearly caught her, And filled her little shoes with water, And, see! the basket floats away.

V.

Frank, in alarm, flings down his net,
And catches Flo (his darling pet),
And in his arms he holds her tight.
"Grasp my jacket, May!" he cries,
As to gain the shore he tries,
And struggles on with all his might.

VI.

Wet-as wet as wet can beStand the little shivering three, No prawns, no basket, and no net. Long, I think, 't will be ere they Are allowed to go and play

At catching prawns and getting wet.

XXIII-HOW PLANTS GROW.

OTHER, I have just found out something," said little Amy Dudley.

you guess what it is ?"

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'Can

2. "No, indeed. I must get you to tell me," said Mrs. Dudley.

3. "It is that flowers grow without eating anything at all," cried the child, with the air of a person who has made a grand discovery.

4. "Not without drinking, though," answered her mother, looking rather amused.

5. "Drinking, mother!" cried Amy. "Why, they have got no mouths."

6. "Nevertheless, they drink," replied Mrs. Dudley.

7. "How can they?" said Amy, earnestly. 8. "Do you not water your rosebush every day?" said her mother.

9. "Yes, to wash it clean; it makes it look fresh. It gets all faded when I forget."

10. "Because it is so thirsty," returned Mrs. Dudley. "I think that if the rosebush had a voice, it would cry about it when you neglect it. I should, I know, if I were a rosebush; for I don't like being thirsty at all."

11. "Mother, you are laughing at me, I know," said Amy.

12. "No, I am not, indeed. The rosebush has