File:Little folks in feathers and fur, and others in neither (1875) (14784222425).jpg

Identifier: littlefolksinfea00mill (find matches)
Title: Little folks in feathers and fur, and others in neither
Year: 1875 (1870s)
Authors: (Miller, Harriet (Mann) Mrs.), 1831- (from old catalog)
Subjects: Zoology
Publisher: Hartford, Conn., Dustin, Gilman & co. Cincinnati, Ohio, Queen city publishing co. (etc., etc.)
Contributing Library: The Library of Congress
Digitizing Sponsor: The Library of Congress

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hey are eaten raw, like oysters, orboiled, like eggs. They were a favorite dish among the Greeks andRomans, served with wine and parsley. There are other Urchins besides the common ones of which Ihave told you. On the opposite page is a picture of one which isvery large and of a bright scarlet color. This picture is not as largeas the creature himself, for he measures six inches across. He isnot hard and stiff, like most of his family, but can flatten himselfdown, like a cake. He can do this because the hundreds of pieces,of which his shell is made, are not joined solidly, as in most SeaUrchins, but lap over each other, and are united by a sort of mem-brane, which is elastic, of course, and allows the shell to change itsshape. There is one kind of Urchin called the Piper Urchin, and awhole family called Heart Urchins. These last, have very slendei IN FEATHERS AND FUR. 261 spines and delicate shells, live on vegetable food, and hide in thesand. They are somewhat in the shape of a heart
Text Appearing After Image:
In some of the hot parts of the world, Urchins are found of ajet black color. They live among the rocks, and are very pugna-cious, inflicting painful wounds with their sharp spines. It seemsalmost as if they could dart the spines out, for one naturalist tellsthat when he approached one, he found his hand full of them,and they were barbed at the end, so that when he pulled them outthe head remained in the wound. When he came near the crea-tures, they would give an irritable shake to their spines, as thoughto warn him away. One of the Urchins is called the Cake Urchin, because he isso flat, and another the Wheel Urchin, because on one side he haswhat looks like the square teeth of a cog-wheel, and on the otherside the teeth are marked out, but apparently, not yet cut. 2(32 LITTLE FOLKS The spines of Urchins sometimes protect others, as well asthemselves. A naturalist found a small creature, who had takenpossession of an Urchins spine, while it was on the owners back,hollowed it out, enl

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