His curiosity was excited and kept alive by the curious organic remains, principally of old and extinct species of fishes, ferns, and ammonites,[14] which were revealed along the coast by the washings of the waves, or were exposed by the stroke of his mason’s hammer. He never lost sight of the subject, but went on accumulating observations and comparing formations, until at length, many years afterward, when no longer a working mason, he gave to the world his highly interesting work on the “Old Red Sandstone,” which at once established his reputation as a scientific geologist. But this work was the fruit of long years of patient observation and research.
We learn from these interesting records that, no matter how or where one is situated, he will always find opportunities for observation if he will only keep his eyes open and his mind open at the same time. It is the brain behind the eyes that makes seeing of any value. Every gift may be perfected by self-culture, and by keeping our eyes busy on things about us, by observing and comparing, we color our future lives, increase our intelligence, and are never at a loss for new worlds to conquer.
What the world needs to-day is less outlook and more insight; more careful observance of what is needed in our homes by those we love and those who love us. We need eyes to see our own duty in every department of life, to note our own faults, and to observe the beauty rather than the blemishes of others; to see wherein we can be of service, and in what way we may enlarge our opportunities, and in order to acquire any skill or proficiency we need continually to pray, “Lord, open thou the eyes of our understanding.”
EASY LESSONS IN ANIMAL BIOLOGY.
CHAPTER II.
SUB-KINGDOM VII.—ARTICULATA.
This subdivision of the animal kingdom, containing articulated or jointed animals and insects, exceeds every other in the number and diversity of the species. The articulation may belong to their bodies, limbs, or outer covering. The tough shells of some, formed by a secretion of a hard, horn-like substance, have numerous segments, or rings, either closely joined and firmly cemented, as those about the head and thorax, or loosely cemented, as those which encompass the abdomen. The skeleton of some is external, and consists of these articulated segments, which serve the double purpose of framework and covering. The muscles, or elastic cartilages holding them together, are striated, or furnished with small grooves in the sheath or shell. If the animal has limbs, they also are jointed, and hollow.
Class I.—Crustacea, so called from the crust in which their soft bodies are encased. They are a very large family, mostly of air breathing animals, with enough in common to indicate their relationship, yet distinguished by a great diversity in their forms and modes of life. Some are very small, and are as numberless as the sands on the shore. Others, when their members are all extended, can stretch themselves over a circle several feet in diameter.