He took the child in his arms, and carried it to the window, where there was a beautiful rose-tree in blossom, and invited it to pull a rose. The child gathered the perfumed flower, not without pricking itself cruelly with the spines; then, with its little hands still bleeding, it went to distribute roses to others in the room.
"Thou art now a vulgariser," said he to the child; "for thou takest to thyself the thorns, and givest the flowers to others!"
The parallel, although exaggerated, is not without its basis of truth, and was probably suggested by the criticism some of his works have met with; the critics forgetting apparently that these works are an attempt to render scientific subjects popular, and attractive to the general reader.
In the present edition of "The Ocean World" it is only necessary to add to the above (dated January, 1868), that the work has been revised throughout, and some not unimportant errors corrected. For several of these I am indebted to Mr. C. O. G. Napier, who has rearranged the whole of the Mollusca. Mr. David Grieve has kindly revised and added to the Crustacea; and to the Messrs. Johnston of Montrose, and Dr. Wilson Johnston of the Bengal service, I am indebted for some valuable practical information respecting the salmon and the various modes of taking it.
W. S. O.
March 1, 1869.
CONTENTS.
| PAGE | |
| [CHAPTER I]. | |
| The Ocean | [1] |
| Depth of the Sea 5 | |
| Colour of the Ocean | [11] |
| Phosphorescence | [13] |
| Saltness of the Sea | [15] |
| [CHAPTER II.] | |
| Currents of the Ocean | [27] |
| Trade-winds | [28] |
| Gulf Stream | [31] |
| Storms | [32] |
| Tides | [35] |
| Polar Seas | [43] |
| Antarctic Seas | [50] |
| [CHAPTER III.] | |
| Life in the Ocean | [60] |
| [CHAPTER IV.] | |
| Zoophytes | [68] |
| Foraminifera | [87] |
| Infusoria | [97] |
| [CHAPTER V.] | |
| Polypifera | [116] |
| [CHAPTER VI.] | |
| Corallines | [119] |
| Tubiporinæ | [120] |
| Gorgoniadæ | [121] |
| Isidians | [124] |
| [CHAPTER VII.] | |
| Zoantharia | [147] |
| Madreporidæ | [149] |
| Porites | [162] |
| Actiniaria | [181] |
| Minyadinians | [193] |
| [CHAPTER VIII.] | |
| Acalephæ | [195] |
| Medusadæ | [213] |
| Rhizostoma | [219] |
| Vilelladæ | [229] |
| Ctenophora | [254] |
| [CHAPTER IX.] | |
| Echinodermata | [259] |
| Asterias | [260] |
| Crinoidea | [270] |
| Echinidæ | [280] |
| [MOLLUSCA.] | |
| General Definition | [301] |
| [CHAPTER X.] | |
| Molluscoida | [303] |
| Tunicata | [309] |
| Ascidians | [309] |
| [CHAPTER XI.] | |
| Acephalous Mollusca | [316] |
| Acephalous Mollusca | [316] |
| [CHAPTER XII.] | |
| Acephalous Mollusca | [344] |
| Mytilidæ | [344] |
| [CHAPTER XIII.] | |
| Cephalous Mollusca | [391] |
| Their Characteristics | [391] |
| [CHAPTER XIV.] | |
| Pulmonary Gasteropods | [396] |
| Limnæidæ | [397] |
| Buccinidæ | [428] |
| Purpura | [430] |
| Pterocera | [439] |
| [CHAPTER XV.] | |
| Molluscous Pteropods | [441] |
| [CHAPTER XVI.] | |
| Cephalopodous Mollusca | [445] |
| Tentaculifera | [445] |
| Acetabula | [448] |
| [CHAPTER XVII.] | |
| Crustaceans | [477] |
| General Definition | [477] |
| Crabs and Crayfish | [486] |
| Lobsters | [496] |
| [CHAPTER XVIII.] | |
| Fishes | [502] |
| Cartilaginous Fishes | [508] |
| Cyclostomata | [508] |
| Selachia | [510] |
| Sturiona | [524] |
| [CHAPTER XIX.] | |
| Ossei, Or Bony Fishes | [529] |
| Plectognathi | [529] |
| Lophobranchii | [534] |
| Malacopterygii | [536] |
| Abdominales | [560] |
| Acanthopterygians | [590] |
| Pharyngeans | [596] |