| CHAPTER | PAGE | |
| I. | Inhabitants of a Drop of Water | [7] |
| II. | The Sponges | [18] |
| III. | The Jellyfishes | [26] |
| IV. | The Sea Anemones | [38] |
| V. | The Corals | [44] |
| VI. | The Stone Lilies | [56] |
| VII. | The Stars of the Sea | [60] |
| VIII. | Ocean Hedgehogs | [65] |
| IX. | The Sea Cucumbers | [70] |
| X. | The Worms | [73] |
| XI. | The Two-valved Shells | [89] |
| XII. | The Univalves | [103] |
| XIII. | The Cuttlefishes | [117] |
| XIV. | The Crustaceans | [128] |
| XV. | From Barnacles to Lobsters | [134] |
| XVI. | The Crabs | [145] |
| XVII. | Luminous Crabs | [156] |
| XVIII. | The Insects | [159] |
| XIX. | Lower Forms of Insects | [164] |
| XX. | The Spiders | [168] |
| XXI. | Some Six-legged Insects | [178] |
| XXII. | Some Mimics | [186] |
| XXIII. | The Grasshoppers and Locusts | [190] |
| XXIV. | The Beetles | [195] |
| XXV. | The Bugs | [199] |
| XXVI. | Flies and Mosquitoes | [204] |
| XXVII. | The Butterflies and Moths | [212] |
| XXVIII. | The Ants | [222] |
| XXIX. | The Bees and Wasps | [228] |
| Index | [233] |
HALF HOURS WITH
THE LOWER ANIMALS
PROTOZOANS, SPONGES, CORALS, SHELLS, INSECTS, AND CRUSTACEANS
I. INHABITANTS OF A DROP OF WATER
The most unobserving stroller through the forest or by the seashore can not fail to be impressed by the abundance and variety of animal life; yet the forms visible to the naked eye really constitute but a fraction of the vast horde which makes up what we call life.
In the year 1901 a strange phenomenon appeared off the coast of southern California. The ocean assumed a reddish muddy hue which was traced for four hundred miles up the coast and from one to twenty miles offshore; hence, at a conservative estimate, the reddish color occupied a space of ten thousand square miles. At night it assumed a greenish light, and when the wind rose and formed whitecaps, each became a blaze of light, and the ocean as far as the eye could reach was converted into a mass of seeming flame. The sands of the beach gave out flashes of light when touched; the footsteps of dog or man on the sands left an imprint of vivid light, and figures made on the sands with a finger or stick stood out in lines of light. Ten thousand square miles of phosphorescent light; ten thousand square miles of living beings, each so minute that it was almost if not quite invisible to the human eye. Who could estimate the individuals in one square mile, one square foot, or even a drop of this reddish water? This illustrates the fact that the greater number of the earth's population are unseen, even though not invisible to the unaided eye.