HARDWICKE'S SCIENCE-GOSSIP. 



125 



A RARE ZOOPHYTE. 



rpHREE or foiu years ago I made an excursion 

 -^ to one of our bays, and brought lionie from a 

 rock-pool a handful of PhyUophora ruhens, for the 

 purpose of examining the small zoopliytes with 

 ■which it was encrusted. I had much delight in 

 seeing the pretty little animals of Lepralia ciliata 

 aud L. GattijcB (the Jatter was new to me) expand 

 their delicate tentacula in a watch-glass full of sea- 

 water, aud on one small frond of tlie Phyllpphora, 

 the quaint and curious little Beania mlrabilis ! It 

 was described as growing on stems and shells, and 

 I would never have thought of looking for it on a 

 seaweed. It expanded itself finely at first, but the 

 weather was dull, and it died before I could see 

 much of it. As I saw by Johnson's and Londs- 



Fig. 87. Rare Zoophyte {Beania mirabilis). 



borough's books that the animal was unknown, I 

 was anxious to procure another specimen, so I 

 visited the same tide-pool some time ago, but 

 neither P. rnbens nor Beania were there. I examined 

 PhjjllopJiora from other localities without success, 

 but at last, when I did not think of anything but 

 specimens of seaweed, I saw, on the perpendicular 

 side of a rock, at low-water mark, some small cir- 



cular fronds, probably Kallymenia reniformis. Oo 

 one of these fronds I found, but too late to take it 

 alive, the latter variety which I sought. On Friday, 

 the I7th of April, the tide being propitious, I went 

 to the same spot and brought away a quantity of 

 encrusted weeds from the rocks, at the lowest tide,, 

 and after carefully examining every portion with ax 

 lens, I had the satisfaction to find 0)ie frond of the- 

 Kallymenia (it is less than an inch hi size), which, 

 was inhabited by a colony of Beania in company 

 with other scarcely less interesting atoms. 



1 had some dilliculty in examining it, as it would' 

 not expand itself in the glass trough of the micro- 

 scope, but in a watch-glass it came out of its cell, 

 freely, though it kept itself obstinately shut up i£ 

 the sun shone too brightly upon it. I send the- 

 accompanying sketch, as it will be better than any 

 descriptioQ which I could give in words. It is a 

 lovely little creature, as transparent as glass. The 

 polype-cell opens like the mouth of a travelling-baj 

 or a porte-monnaie, and then the animal protrudes 

 its whole length, then expands itself like a beau- 

 tiful crystal cup on a long stem, turning itself iii 

 every direction with the most charming grace. 



There are cells in every stage of growth, froiii 

 mere tubes to full-grown ; some of these, such as. 

 the one marked thus *, I did not see expand, and 

 1 take them to be cells in which the animal is not 

 yet quite developed. L. R. 



A FIREMAN'S DOG. 



"V/TY friend Mr. Tozer, iu his interesting article- 

 ■^^ on the origin of fires, did well to qualify the 

 discredit he endeavoured to throw upon the dog ia 

 relation to such catastrophes, by admitting that 

 many anecdotes might be related of the interest 

 dogs have taken in, and assistance they have given, 

 at, fires. The following, though perhaps not known- 

 to Mr. Tozer himself, will be familiar to many 

 members of his brigade, and speaks volumes for 

 the sagacity of the one animal which, above all 

 others, makes itself so companionable to man. 



At one of the principal Manchester theatres, 

 adopting the recommendation of Mr. Tozer, the 

 proprietors, upon the theory that prevention is- 

 better than cure, engaged a person as night watch- 

 man, whose duties were to make the tour of the- 

 building during the performances, again imme- 

 diately upon the close of the entertainments, and 

 finally in the early morning. To guard against the 

 common and great evil, arising from the system of 

 night-watching — sleep — periodical visits were made- 

 from the fire office. Left alone in a spacious build- 

 ing, and that one associated with anything but ex- 

 citement, the long hours of solitariness and en- 

 forced wakefulness must have passed wearily 

 indeed. No wonder, then, that the man should 



