% lllaiiual of ^cii-|.iiTmonTs. 



CHAPTER I. 



WHAT IS A SEA-ANEMONE 



Evidently this is the first i)oint to be settled ; but, 

 though the question is a simple one, I am afraid it 

 will take more than a few words to frame an intel- 

 ligent and intelligible answer. 



Suppose we take a morning stroll on Capstone, 

 and ask the first half-dozen of our friends whom we 

 chance to meet, " What is a sea-anemone ? " 



" A sea-anemone ? Oh ! — um — well — I'm sure I 

 don't know!" That is a candid answer at all 

 events. 



"A sea-anemone is a gelatinous animal, which is 

 found at low-tide adhering firmly by its base to the 

 rocks." True, perhaps, so far as it goes, but not 

 satisfactorily distinctive ; we are rather afraid that 

 our friend is one of the scientific humbugs — animals 

 which are also found in great numbers about the 

 rocks at low-water. 



B 8 



