46 A MANUAL 



from eveiy part of their surface, and are abundant in 

 the tentacles of all. Observe that each of our three 

 pans holds a group of anemones, which carries its 

 spike- cases in one position peculiar to itself — the 

 beads — the ovaries — the white threads. See 

 Chapter VI. 



A few words about these white threads of the 

 daisy and his friends. If you incommode "daisy" 

 with your finger-nail, he will shoot out his threads 

 at you, as I have said; cut off the end of one of 

 them, and put it under your microscope, and it will 

 present the appearance represented at a a, Plate II., 

 fig. 2, a round white cord, moving freely by means of 

 multitudes of invisible " cilia," or hairs, with which 

 it is fringed, and composed of an outside membrane, 

 to w^hich the cilia are attached, and which invests 

 innumerable quantities of the round cells shown at c, 

 fig. 1, and great numbers of the "spike-cases" at a 

 and h. When the anemone recovers his temper he 

 draws back his threads into his body. About the 

 use of these " spike-cases " I can give joii but little 

 information. Naturalists believe them to be weapons 

 of offence, and that the spike is exercised in killing 

 the animalcules, crabs and molluscs on which the 

 anemone feeds, as well as in warning off any hostile 

 intruders. See Mr. Gosse's ' Devonshire Coast,' for 

 the observations on which he grounds this opinion. 



Now for our specimens in pan or glass No. 1. 



First, they all have smooth soft skins, and if we 



