ACTINIAD.E : ACTINIA. 227 



Actinia crassicornis never indues itself with an extraneous cover- 

 ing. It is very sportive in its colours, and some of the varieties are 

 eminently beautiful. One is of a uniform bright scarlet studded 

 over with pale warts like ornamental beads ; another is of a cream 

 colour without spot or stain ; another is of a pale sulphur-yellow, or 

 greenish with orange-coloured stripes, the oral disc and vesicular 

 lobes borrowing the hues of the wild rose ; another is blotched or 

 marbled with red and white ; but indeed they vary in this respect 

 so much that no description can do justice to them or define their 

 limits. The species varies, too, in its wartiness ; — in some individuals 

 the warts are small and often obscure, and in others the body is 

 quite smooth, — a variety which constitutes the A. felina of Linnaeus, 

 if we are to be guided, in the identification of his species, by the 

 figures to which he refers, for I am quite aware that neither the 

 specific character nor trivial name are applicable. — Is it the Isac- 

 maea crassicornis of Ehrenberg ? Corall. p. 33. — The Isacmaea 

 jmpillosa (Corall. p. 33.) of the same distinguished naturalist is more 

 certainly founded on our scarlet wart-studded variety of A. crassi- 

 cornis. — The Act. crassicornis of Delle Chiaje (Anim. s. Vert. Nap. 

 pi. 16, fig. 4.), is a different species ; as is also the Actinia described 

 under the same name by the excellent author of the Fauna Groen- 

 landica, p. 348. 



Dicquemare says — " Of all the kinds of Sea-Anemonies, I would 

 prefer this for the table ; being boiled some time in sea-water, they 

 acquire a firm and palatable consistence, and may then be eaten 

 with any kind of sauce. They are of an inviting appearance, of 

 a light shivering texture, and of a soft white and reddish hue. Their 

 smell is not unlike that of a warm crab or lobster." Phil. Trans, 

 abridg. xiii, p. 637. — The mouth waters at the liquorish description, 

 and I dare to say that Sea-Anemonies are not less a luxury than 

 the Sea-Urchius of the tasteful Greeks, or the snails of the Roman 

 epicures, but I have not been tempted to test its truth. Rondele- 

 tius, having, as I think, Actinia crassicornis in view, is an older wit- 

 ness to its daintiness, and he tells us that it brings a good price at 

 Bourdeaux : " ilz la lauent fort e souuent^ puis la fricassent legiere- 

 ment en la poele." — Actinia dianthus also " is good to eat," quoth 

 Dicquemare ; and Plancus directs the cook to dress this after the 

 manner of dressing oysters, with which it is frequently eaten. Even 

 the hot and peppery Anthea has its praise ; from it they prepare the 

 dish called Rastegna, which is a favourite in Provence. 



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