so that it looks upwards instead of sideways. It is one of the mud-lovers, a fact which accounts for the peculiar position of the eyes. It is said to feed after the fashion of the fishingfrog-i.e. by burying itself in the mud and attracting other Fishes

"We remember the fish which we did eat in Egypt freely."-NUMB. xi. 5.

by a worm-like appendage of its mouth, and pouncing on them before they are aware of their danger.

This is not a pretty Fish, and as it is very spiny, is not pleasant to the grasp, but its flesh is very good, and it is much valued by those who can obtain it.

The last Fish to be noticed is the SURMULLET (Mullus Surmuletus), a Fish that is equally remarkable for the beauty of its colours and the excellence of its flesh.

INVERTEBRATES.

MOLLUSCS.

The purple of Scripture-Various Molluscs from which it is obtained-The common Dog-Whelk of England-The sac containing the purple dye-Curious change of colour-Mode of obtaining the dye-The Tyrian purple-The king of the Ethiopians and the purple robe-The professional purple dyersVarious words expressive of different shades of purple—Care taken to keep the preparation of the dye secret,

LEAVING the higher forms of animal life, we now pass to the Invertebrated Animals which are mentioned in Scripture.

As may be inferred from the extreme looseness of nomenclature which prevails among the higher animals, the species which can be identified are comparatively few, and of them but a very few details are given in the Scriptures.

Taking them in their zoological order, we will begin with the MOLLUSCS.

WE are all familiar with the value which was set by the ancients upon the peculiar dye which may be called by the name of Imperial Purple. In the first place, it was exceedingly costly, not only for its richness of hue, but from the great difficulty with which a sufficient quantity could be procured for staining a dress. Purple was exclusively a royal colour, which might not be worn by a subject. Among the ancient Romans, during the times of the Caesars, any one who ventured to appear in a dress of purple would do so at the peril of his life. In the consular days of Rome, the dress of the consuls was white, striped with purple; but the Cæsars advanced another step in luxury, and dyed the whole toga of this costly hue.

The colour of the dye is scarcely what we understand by the term "purple," i.e. a mixture of blue and red. It has but very little blue in it, and has been compared by the ancients to the colour of newly-clotted blood. It is obtained from several

Molluscs belonging to the great Whelk family, the chief of which is the Murex brandaris. Another species is Murex trunculus, another is Purpura hæmastoma, and we have a fourth on our own coast, the common Dog-Whelk, or Dog-Periwinkle (Purpura lapillus).

The shell is shaped something like that of a whelk, but is very smooth and porcelain-like, and is generally white, ornamented with several coloured bands. It is, however, one of the most variable of shells, differing not only in colour but in form. It always inhabits the belt of the shore between tide-marks, and preys upon other Molluscs, such as the mussel and periwinkle, literally licking them to pieces with its long riband tongue.

This tongue is beset with rows of hooked teeth, exactly like the shark-tooth weapons of the Samoan and Mangaian Islanders, and with it the creature is enabled to bore through the shells of mussels and similar Molluscs, and to eat the enclosed animal. It is very destructive to periwinkles, thrusting its tongue through the mouth of the shell, piercing easily the operculum by which the entrance is closed, and gradually scooping out the unfortunate inmate.

Even the bivalves, which can shut themselves up between two shells, fare no better, the tongue of the Dog-Whelk rasping a hole in the hard shell in eight-and-forty hours.

Any of my readers who desire to obtain a very fair specimen of the old imperial purple can do so without difficulty.

Let him go down to the sea-shore, and collect a number of Dog-Whelks-a task of no difficulty, as a bushel may be obtained in a very short time. Let him provide himself with a piece of perfectly clean linen, or pure white woollen fabric, and a pair of fine scissors or a sharp knife.

In order to procure the animal, the shell must be broken with a sharp blow of a small hammer, and the receptacle of the colouring matter can then be seen behind the head, and recognised by its lighter hue.

When it is opened, a creamy sort of matter exudes. It is yellowish, and gives no promise of its future richness of hue. There is only one drop of this matter in each animal, and it is about sufficient in quantity to stain a piece of linen the size of a sixpence.

The best mode of seeing the full beauty of the purple is to