ANNELIDA. 85 



the function seems to be performed by the whole 

 surface of the body. This is the case with the 

 Earthworms and the Leeches. In the Serpulce, 

 the Sabellce, and their allies, the gills form radiat- 

 ing tufts of stiff threads, forming the beautiful 

 crowns already alluded to, each thread being armed 

 on the upper or inner side with a double row of 

 filaments, like the teeth of a comb, — an exquisite 

 disposition, especially when the animal's action is 

 watched in life and health. In the Terebellce, 

 — those curious worms which burrow in the mud of 

 our shores, and throw abroad their long, twining, 

 thread-like tentacles, as if each had an individual 

 worm-life, — the gills are little tufts, branched like 

 tiny shrubs, three on each side of the neck. In 

 the Lug (Aremcola), which the fisherman digs up 

 for bait, the tufts are arranged in a row on each 

 side of the middle part of the body; and, instead of 

 ramifying in all directions like a standard shrub, 

 branch in one plane, like a well-trained fruit-tree 

 against a wall. 



Space fails me to describe all the variations exhi- 

 bited in these organs, especially among the Cepha- 

 lana. In JEuphrosyne there is a tangled web of 

 shrubbery all down each side ; in Eunice a double 

 series of threads branched, comb-like, on one side, 

 arch over the middle of the back ; in Myriana, as 

 also in Nerine, &c, the gills are thin curved blades ; 

 in Phyllodoce they are broad leaves, over which 

 the blood-vessels are seen ramifying in excessive 

 minuteness. 



The Sea-mouse, whose glittering mantle of golden 

 hair I have above noticed, displays a most singular 

 economy in its respiration. The back is covered 

 by a thick felt of matted hair, which is permeable 



