TUBULARIA INDIVISA. 99 



CHAPTER X. 



"Thy very weeds are beautiful." 



TUBULARIA INDIVISA. THE SIMPLE TUBULARIA, OR 

 OATEN-PIPE CORALLINE. 



THE Tubularia indivisa (PI. II. fig. 1), one of the most 

 elegant of our native zoophytes, might easily be mis- 

 taken by a superficial observer for a flourishing vege- 

 table, which, although destitute of leaves and branches, 

 exhibits, in the rich tints of its " animal flowers," a 

 spectacle hardly to be surpassed by the gayest pro- 

 ductions of the realms of Flora. 



This beautiful polyp, although very generally to be 

 obtained on most parts of the coast, is an inhabitant 

 of deep water, dwelling at a depth of thirty or forty 

 feet below the surface of the sea, and is therefore, 

 under ordinary circumstances, only procurable by 

 means of a dredge net ; but when thus obtained, will 

 amply repay the Aquariist for his exertions, and afford 

 him an abundant supply of subjects for observation. 



A bunch of Tubularia fresh from its native bed is 

 indeed not unfrequently a perfect garden in itself, 

 every stem being densely populated with other forms 

 of zoophytes, growing in rich profusion from its sur- 

 face, and affording a spectacle well calculated to im- 



