Star-fish are very greedy. They are always hungry. They make the fishermen much trouble by eating the fish-bait off their hooks. They also devour oysters. When they get into an oyster-bed they are as bad as the drill. When an army of star-fish go to a part of the coast where oysters grow, the oysters are soon killed.
The star-fish are of many bright and pretty colors. They are green, brown, gray, red, pink, or with several colors on the same star.
When they are dead, the flesh, which has much water in it, dries away. The tough shell-like skin is left. You can dry them by pinning them on a board. Leave them for a few days in the sun and wind. If you do not pin out the rays, they may curl up.
They look better kept in alcohol, but that is not a good way for children. I fear the bottles would soon be broken.
LESSON XXXIX.
A SEA-CHANGE.
The star-fish lay a great number of eggs. Let us see what happens to eggs of one kind. They are not dropped one by one into the water, or strung on threads like chains.
Water Babies.
They stick to the under-side of the parent fish, which settles on the sand or rocks, resting on its back, and bends up its five rays, like a basket, to hold and protect the eggs.