484 Mr. De la Beche on the habits of Caryo^hyllicL 



mained protruded. This state of things, however, the animal 

 soon rectified, by twisting the tail with two or three of its tenta- 

 cula in such a manner, as to cause it to enter the orifice of the sac 

 more easily. 



I should not have supposed these creatures capable of swal- 

 lowing a crustaceous animal solarge in proportion to themselves as 

 a shrimp.* 



April 28. Both individuals had voided the crustaceous parts of 

 the shrimps, having digested all the fleshy parts, and were more 

 collapsed than usual to-day. 



April 30. I fed the corals with pieces of the common small 

 Hermit crab, which they conveyed into their sacs in the usual 

 manner. The greenish individual had much trouble to squeeze in 

 the eyes and hard crust of the head. The sac appears capable of 

 great extension, and has, probably, much muscular power. Al- 

 though the piece swallowed was large, the animal presented only 

 the usual pursed up appearance afterwards. 



May 2. Abstinence does not appear to agree well with these 

 creatures, though one would suppose that, in their natural state, they 

 must often remain long without food. The green individual had 

 sunk so low into its cell, that the sharp edges of the laminae were 

 scarcely covered, and I, at first, thought that it was dead. But, 

 upon presenting a piece of cockle to it, it gradually raised the 

 orifice of its sac, and after some time, the whole piece was enve- 

 loped. It did not, however, even then, put forth its tentacula. 



The reddish brown individual was not sunk into its cell ; 

 though the tentacula were not fully developed. It managed the 

 piece of cockle presented to it in the usual way. 



May 3. In order to try the gluttony of these animals, I fed 

 each with a large piece of cockle, and each of them managed to 

 convey its portion into its sac, though they were unable to close 

 their orifices. The reddish brown, after a short time, rejected the 

 piece from its sac. After letting it remain for a short time quiet, 



* I have frequently watched the ActinitB at Dawlish, in Devonshire, with 

 their tentacula expanded, and observed how surely they entangled the young 

 crabs, which heedlessly ran within their reach. — W. J. B. 



