138 THE SEA SHORE 



examination will also reveal the rapid movements of the cilia of its 

 combs, and it is remarkable that these do not always work to- 

 gether, the animal being able to move any of its plates indepen- 

 dently, and to reverse their motion when occasion requires. It 

 has no tentacles corresponding with those of jelly-fishes and 

 anemones, but is assisted in the capture of its prey by its two long 

 arms, the chief use of which, however, seems to be that of a 

 rudder for steering. 



If the Beroe is left out of water for some time, the water which 

 forms such a large proportion of its body evaporates, leaving an 

 almost imperceptible residue of solid matter ; and if left in water 

 after it is dead, its substance rapidly dissolves away, leaving not 

 the slightest trace of its presence. There seems to be no satis- 

 factory way of preserving this beautiful form of animal life. If 

 placed in strong spirit the water is rapidly extracted from its body, 

 and its animal substance shrivelled to a minute, shapeless mass ; 

 while in weak spirit and in other fluid preservatives it becomes 

 more or less distorted, and deprived of its beautiful transparency, 

 or else it disappears altogether. 



We now come to the great favourites among the coelenterates 

 the beautiful anemones the animated flowers of the ocean, 

 remarkable not only for their lovely flower-like forms, but also for 

 the great variety of colour and of habits which they display. These, 

 together with the corals, form the division of the coelenterates 

 known as the Zoantliaria, characterised by the possession of 

 simple tentacles, the number of which is a multiple of either five 

 or six. The latter differ from the former mainly in the power of 

 secreting a calcareous skeleton which remains attached by its base 

 after the animal substance has decayed. 



The expanded anemone exhibits a more or less cylindrical body, 

 attached by a suctorial base to a rock or some other object, and a 

 broad circular disc above. In the centre of this disc is the mouth, 

 surrounded by the tentacles, often very numerous, and arranged in 

 one or more whorls. When the animal is inactive the tentacles 

 are usually completely withdrawn, and the body contracted into a 

 semiglobular or pear-shaped mass which is very firm to the touch. 



The general internal structure of an anemone may be made out 

 by simple dissections, and the examination conducted with the 

 specimen submerged in water. A longitudinal section will show 

 that the body is a double tube, the outer being formed by the body- 

 wall, and the inner by the wall of the stomach. Thus there is a 



