The Ragworm is another species that is highly valued as bait. It burrows into the odorous mud that is so commonly deposited in harbours and the mouths of sluggish rivers. In this species the segments are similar throughout the length of the body, and the numerous flattened appendages give it the ragged appearance that has suggested its popular name. Quite a number of marine worms closely allied to the common ragworm, and resembling it in general form, are to be found on our shores. Many of these may be seen by turning over stones that are left exposed at low tide, while others hide themselves in snug little crevices of the rock, or in the empty shells of the acorn barnacle and various molluscs; and some species, including one of a bright-green colour, creep freely over the wet rocks in search of food or home, often exposing themselves to the rays of a fierce summer sun. [Illustration: FIG. 118.--THE SEA MOUSE] The Sea Mouse (_Aphrodita aculeata_) is certainly one of the most interesting of the roving marine worms, and, though seldom seen above low-water line, may often be obtained by the sea-side collector with the aid of friendly fishermen, who sometimes find it plentifully among the contents of their trawl nets. Failing such aid, it may be looked for among the encrusted stones that are exposed only at the lowest spring tides, especially in places where a certain amount of mud has been deposited under the shelter of outlying rocks; and the chances of success are much greater if the search is made immediately after a storm, for at such times much of the life that exists in deep water will have been driven shoreward by the force of the waves. At first sight the sea mouse would hardly be associated with the worms; for, instead of having the elongated and cylindrical form that is usually regarded as characteristic of these creatures, it is broad and slug-like in shape, the under surface, on which it crawls, being flat, while the upper side is convex. The segmentation of the body, too, is not readily seen in the upper surface on account of the thick felt-like covering of hairs, but is at once apparent when the creature has been turned over to expose the ventral side.