ACTINIA. 233 



seen and appreciated. Even more than a hundred years ago, 

 when little was known of their nature, and when zoophy- 

 tology was yet in its infancy, before our naturahsts had 

 made them an object of study, more common observers had 

 given them appropriate English names. Ellis knew that it 

 would be understood what he meant when he spoke of them 

 as sea-anemones ; he says, " their tentacles, being disposed 

 in regular circles, and tinged with a variety of bright, lively 

 colours, very nearly represent the beautiful petals of some 

 of our most elegantly fringed and radiated flowers, sach as 

 the carnation, marygold, and anemone. ^^ Nay, not only 

 has the resemblance been acknowledged by man, but in one 

 case at least on record, it forced itself on a connoisseur who 

 had more practical acquaintance with flowers than any of 

 our florists or botanists. A distinguished naturalist (Mr. 

 Couch) mentions, that when he was admiring the beauty of a 

 sea-anemone, as on a sunny day it lay with fully expanded 

 tentacula in a sliallow rock-pool, a bee, on honey intent, 

 deceived by appearances, pounced upon the marine flower. 

 The tentacula, being at the very surface of the water, in- 

 stantly caught the unfortunate intermeddler, and in spite 

 of its struggles swallowed it up. 



We wish to direct attention to these Helianthoid, or sun- 



