OF SEA-ANEMONES. 13 



if we cut some worms into two or three pieces, each 

 piece continues to exist, having in itself sufficient 

 " nerve " to move and get its living. But the cha- 

 racters of this class do not agree with those of our 

 sea-anemone. 



Thirdly, we come to the Molluscs, animals which 

 do not possess a back-hone, or a jointed external 

 skeleton. Their bodies are soft [mollusciis, " soft," 

 Latin] throughout ; they have no limbs ; their skin 

 generally covers their bodies in a loosel3^-folded form, 

 like a " mantle," which name it bears in works on 

 Natural Historj^ — sometimes it is covered with a de- 

 posit of lime, and then becomes a shell ; their blood 

 is white and cold ; their nerves are placed in masses 

 not symmetrically disposed throughout the body. 

 Examples of this class are snails, slugs, Trochi 

 (white and pink, spiral shells often found among 

 the rocks), oysters, cuttle-fish, &c. 



Lastly, we have the Radiates. A radiate is a 

 creature whose organs are arranged in rays around 

 a centre, in which is usually the mouth. His nerves, 

 when visible, are similarly disposed; and the stomach 

 is equally developed on all sides of this centre. 

 Plainly, then, friend Anemone is of this kind ; for if 

 you look at him when he is in full flower, or even par- 

 tially open, you will observe his swelling lips in the 

 midst of all his tentacles or long arms, which are 

 busily engaged in collecting his food ; and you will 

 see that no one side of him is diiferent from another 



c 



