When seen for the first time in its natural haunt one naturally wonders what the moving mass may be. Crawling sluggishly over incrusted stones, or remaining perfectly still in a muddy puddle that has been exposed by overturning a stone, it looks like a little mound of mud itself, about four or five inches long, and its general colour and surface so closely resembles that of its surroundings that an inexperienced collector may never even suspect that the mass is a living animal form. But take the creature and wash it in the nearest rock pool, and it will be recognised as a broad segmental worm, thickly covered with fine hairs above, and its sides adorned by bristles that display a most beautiful iridescence. It is not easy to see the value of this gorgeous colouring to the animal, and it is doubtful whether, on account of the muddy nature of the creature’s home, such colouring is often displayed to the view of other inhabitants of the sea; but it is well known, on the other hand, that sea mice are readily devoured by fishes, even though they possess an armature of stiff and sharp spines, and that they must therefore be often preserved from destruction by the close resemblance of the general colour to that of their surroundings. The gills of the sea mouse are not prominent appendages, as with most marine worms, but are soft fleshy structures situated beneath the overlapping scales that lie hidden below the thick hair of the upper surface. As it is most probable that the reader may desire to preserve a sea mouse at some time or other, a few words concerning the best methods of doing this may be of value. If it is to be preserved in fluid, it should be thoroughly washed to remove all the mud that normally covers its body, and then placed in spirit or formaldehyde, both of which fluids have no destructive effects on the iridescent colouring of the bristles. If, however, it is desired to keep the specimen in a dry state, it should first be put into strong spirit containing a few grains of corrosive sublimate, for a few days. It should then be put under considerable pressure between several thicknesses of absorbent paper to expel the fluid it contains, as well as all the softer internal structures. By this means it will have been squeezed quite flat, so that it presents anything but a natural appearance; but the skin may be blown out to the normal shape by means of a glass tube inserted into the mouth, and then set aside to dry. As the water it originally contained has been extracted by the strong spirit, the drying takes place very quickly; and the small amount of corrosive sublimate that has penetrated into its substance will be sufficient to protect it from the invasion of those pests that commonly attack our museum specimens.