166 BULLETIN OF THE UNITED STATES FISH COMMISSION. 



an investigation of the matter I found a number of small bluish-gray 

 pellets, a couple of millimeters in diameter, floating about in the water. 

 Just then I saw one of the actinire eject a similar pellet from its mouth. 

 Upon investigating one of these pellets microscopically I learned that 

 it consisted of nothing else than the empty shells of young oysters, the 

 remains of the ingested food of the actinia. Although I do not believe 

 that the actinia 1 , under ordinary natural conditions, have the opportu- 

 nity to destroy as many larvae as noted above, they may, however, be 

 able to destroy great quantities, as they are present in great numbers, 

 attached to the old oysters at the sea bottom. 



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