Return of Spring—Flight to the Coast—Weymouth Bay—Its Grandeur—Portland Breakwater—Its Utility—Harbour of Refuge—Aquarium at the Zoological Gardens—History of the Scheme—Gradual Enunciation of the Principle—Priestley—Ellis—Daubeny's Researches—Ward—Johnston—Warington's Experiments—Their complete Success.
Reconnoitring—Walk along the Beach—Belmont Bay—Shingle unproductive—Sea-grass—Lucky-stone—Power of Memory—Byng Cliff—Rocky Ledges—Promises—Scene from the Cliff—Steamer 'Contractor'—Birds and Insects—Oil Beetle—Loon—Peculiarity of Tide—Collecting Sea-weeds—Mode of Operation—Fissures—Delesseria—Chondrus—Laurencia—Oarweeds—Dulse—Chylocladia—Coralline—Ulva—Cladophora—Method of Dislodgment—Its Risks and Difficulties—Collecting Animals—Yellow Winkle—Periwinkle—Its Usefulness—Confervoid Growth in Aquarium—Removed by the Mollusks—Their manner of Eating—Periwinkle's Tongue—Its Action and Efficiency—Weymouth Anemone—Its Varieties—Black Sand-worm—Yellow Doris—Cowry—Hairy Crab—Lobster Prawn.
Craving for the Remote—Visit to Portland—Wilderness of Stone—Barren Shore—Tansy—Cowslips and Hyacinths—Burnet
Rose—Spurge—Land Shells—Garden Snail—Banded Snail—Heath Snail—Silky Snail—Stone Snail—Elegant Cyclostome—Reasons of hidden Things discoverable—Glory to God in Praise—The Broad-claw—Its Manners—Use of the Foot-jaws—Their exquisite Structure—A living Casting Net—Use of the hind Feet—A Dredging Day—Quay Scene—Nature and Use of the Dredge—Oyster Dredge—Naturalist's Dredge—Keer-drag—Roman Advice—Jonah Fowler—His Qualifications—Preston Valley—A Cast of the Drag—Its Produce—Osmington—Burning Cliff—Whitenose—A tragical Adventure—Examination of a Dredge-haul—Brittle-stars—Sunstar—Bird's foot—Cribella—Beauty of Starfishes—Soldier-crab—Cloak Anemone—Spider-crabs—Sepiole—Its Beauty—Changes of Colour—Curious Mode of Burrowing—Accessory Uses of Organs—Discharge of Ink—Murderous Propensities.
Excursion to Wyke—Advent of Summer—Rural Sights and Sounds—Cockchafers—Larks—Starling—Wake-robin—Germander Speedwell—Recollections—View of Weymouth Bay Fern "Shells"—Belfield—Wood Plants—Clausilia—Magpies—Blackbirds—Cuckoo's Note—Apologies—Wyke Church—The Fleet—Chesil Beach—Spotted Goby—Flatfish—Sand Launce—Strange Variety of Daisy Anemone—Its Parturition—Chesil—The Beach—Lobster fishing—Rocky Shore—Seaweeds—The Long-tongued Medusa—Pearl-shells—Thorns turned to Gems—Belmont Ledges—The Goblet Lucernaria—Its Habits and Affinities.
Promenade on the Nothe—The Jetty—The Mixon—A fertile Garden of Algæ—Tangles—Rhodosperms—Chlorosperms—Laver—The splendid Cystoseira—The Floods of Adversity—My own Tank—Disappointments—The Contents—Crowds of unexpected Guests—Results—The Black Goby—Its cannibal Propensities—Changes of Colour—Sucking Fin-disk—Mullet Fry—Their Manner of Feeding—Efforts to breathe Air—Wrasses—Their Beauty—Explanation of Frontispiece—The
Corkwing—The Green Wrasse—Habits of a Corkwing—Its tragical Fate—Pipefishes—The Two-spotted Sucker—Suggested Use of its Mechanism—Analogy of the Echeneïs—Spawn of the Sucker—Double Vision—Examples of the Phenomenon—The Honeycomb Coral—Its Parasites—Its Structure—Its Populousness—Montgomery's Coral-worms—Spiritual Analogies—The Heavenly Jerusalem.
A Walk through Portland—Fortune's Well—Old Smuggler—Bow and Arrow Castle—Church Hope—Vast Chasm—Resemblance to Lundy—Southwell—Keeve's Hole—Awkward Accident—Natural Arches and Pillars—Sea-weeds—The Tansy—Its Nest—The Peacock's Tail—Seaweed Gardens—The Strawberry Crab—Its climbing Propensities—Connexion between long Arms and climbing Habits—The Cloak Anemone—Its Singular Form explained—Unaccountable Companionships—Illustrative Examples of the Species—Efficiency of the Thread-capsules—The Rosy Filaments—The Parasitic Anemone—Its Size, Form and Colours—Its Associations—Its missile Weapons—Rank Odour.
Another dredging Day—Fading Memories—A Calm—Durdle-Door—An Archway of Rock—A Walk under the Cliffs—Young Gulls—The Cow and Calf—Search for Sea-weeds—A Breeze—Zoëa of Crab—Its Habits—Singular Capture of a Fish—Contents of the Dredges—The Sea-mouse—Its remarkable Splendours—Interesting Structure—Pennant's Ebalia—Its Habits—Its Fate—Soldier-crabs—Resemblance to Spiders—Pugnacity—Curious Associations—Parasitic Anemone—Parasitic Worm—"Snatch and Swallow"—A Crab "moving House"—Details of his Proceedings—Prawns—Their Elegance—Eye-gleams—Manner of eating—Cleanliness—A judicial Appointment—Its Mercy—Its Extension to the Creatures—Examples of Animal Cleanliness—The Prawn's Scrubbing Brushes—Serpulæ—The Beauty of the Animals—Their Watchfulness—A curious Stopper—Locomotive Bristles—Comb-plates—Their Operation.
A Meditation—The Spiritual Use of Natural History—Extremes of Opinion—Scriptural Warrant for the Study—Its Limits—Three inspired Modes of Treatment—I. Direct Testimony to God—Founded on our Ignorance—On our Knowledge—Various Attributes of God discoverable—Responsibilities—Cain's Offering—II. Moral Lessons by Examples—III. Spiritual Parallelisms—Similes—Types—Symbols—Allegories—God's Message of Grace.
Autumnal Gales—Lucernaria—Mode of finding it—Analogy with Medusa—Description—Habit of Bell Lucernaria—Last Look at Weymouth—London Studies—The Spinous Cockles—Their gymnastic Feats—Fine Appearance of the Foot—Open-heartedness—The Siphons and their Use—Strange Creatures in the Sea—The Rough Syrinx—Value of a Bit of Stone—The Terebella—Ancient Masonry—Crawling and Swimming Feats—The Gold-comb—Its Tube—Its Combs—Their Use—Its Mode of Burrowing—Respiration—Structure of the Tail—The Gills—The Spears—Use of these Organs—Self-abolition—A Faculty of
Echinoderms—Brittle-stars—Cross-fish—Suicide of one—Holothuriæ—Chirodota—Its Structure—Its Manners—Ovarian Threads—Effusion of Colour—The Leaf-Worms—Their Elegance—Evolution of the Stomach—A new Species—Structure of the Spears—Use of these Organs not entirely known—Respiration—Reflections.
