108 THE AQUARIAN NATURALIST. 



the one, and the venerable aspect of the other, the 

 delicate polyps often laden with prolific fruit, and the 

 numerous ramifications, all highly picturesque, are 

 well calculated to attract our admiration and excite 

 the interest of the observer. 



A remarkably fine specimen is described by Sir 

 J. Dalyell, which was obtained from among the rocks 

 of a cavity in the bottom of the Frith of Forth, at 

 about 150 feet from the surface; it had vegetated in 

 such a direction that it was detached quite entire. 



Being transferred to a capacious vessel of sea-water, 

 this beautiful zoophyte was found to rise seven inches 

 and a half in height. Its stem, measuring about nine 

 lines in diameter near the root, soon subdivided into 

 several massy boughs, besides many lesser branches ; 

 numberless twigs, terminated bv thousands of minute 



O s v 



Hydrae of the palest carnation, clothed the extremities, 

 which were ten inches apart. The root consisted of 

 multitudes of moss-like fibres, extending over a circle 

 two inches in diameter. The stem and the higher 

 rigid portions consisted of irregular bundles of tubes, 

 while the absolute extremities bearing the Hydrse 

 resolved themselves into single tubes, each with its 

 appropriate animal. 



Many parasites invested this splendid specimen. 

 Masses of the pure white and deep orange Alcyonium 

 digitatum, or Lobularia, hung from the boughs ; er- 

 tularia, Sponges and Algae were profusely interspersed, 

 all proving by their obviously successive generations, 

 that the Eudendrium on which they had their growth 

 had attained to a considerable age. 



The " heads" or Hvdra3 of the Eudendrium are de- 



