. Shells and sea-life. roundthe world, they returned toEngland in 1788. An ac-count of the voyage waspublished in 1789. MUSSELS. 73 byssus, and fastening themselves firmly to thesolid support. And so you can often find the side of a ledgethat faces the sea almost covered with mussel-shells, set as closely as they can lie, and all sofirmly anchored by the horny threads that youcan hardly pull off one shell at a time. When the tide comes in, you can see why theyneed these strong anchor-chains, for the waveswill sweep up and down the face of the ledge,washing away everything thatis not fastened i
. Shells and sea-life. roundthe world, they returned toEngland in 1788. An ac-count of the voyage waspublished in 1789. MUSSELS. 73 byssus, and fastening themselves firmly to thesolid support. And so you can often find the side of a ledgethat faces the sea almost covered with mussel-shells, set as closely as they can lie, and all sofirmly anchored by the horny threads that youcan hardly pull off one shell at a time. When the tide comes in, you can see why theyneed these strong anchor-chains, for the waveswill sweep up and down the face of the ledge,washing away everything thatis not fastened in the securestmanner. But this dashing of thewaves is just what the musselsenjoy. They know that theycannot be torn off; so they justopen their shells and breathein the refreshing salt foam,which purifies their sluggishblood and brings to theirmouths an abundance of care they for the howl ofthe tempest or the dash of thebreakers? They have builttheir house upon a rock, andthe storm cannot harm them. Figure 27. 74 WESTERN SERIES OF READERS. If you examine the organs of a mussel, you willfind that the flesh is of a bright orange are four gills, two on each side, looking likedelicate ribbons. These gills are the organs bywhich it breathes, and they also help gather itsfood. The outside of the shell is covered with ahorny skin, brown or black in color; this is apt
Size: 1017px × 2456px
Photo credit: © The Reading Room / Alamy / Afripics
License: Licensed
Model Released: No
Keywords: ., bookcentury1900, bookdecade1900, booksubjectmollusk, bookyear1901
