78 A MANUAL 



conditions as do the anemones. In this case, when I 

 touched these green and purple balls, instead of col- 

 lapsing more closely than before, they gradually ex- 

 panded into perfect bloom, whereas an anemone 

 would shut himself up with rapid and resolute deter- 

 mination. 



Such examples might be prolonged endlessly, yet 

 I have said enough to show how much the humblest 

 lover of Nature may do in the cause of Science by 

 collecting and observing carefully, accurately and 

 honestly, taking nothing for granted which is not 

 proved, and (a no less useful caution) not setting 

 down an observation as false, because he is unable 

 to verify it immediately. 



I shall now proceed to answer the question placed 

 at the head of this Chapter, by setting down some 

 of the curious habits and strange performances in 

 which our friends the sea-anemones indulge, whether 

 in captivity or in a state of freedom, remarking only, 

 in connection with what has been just stated, that 

 whilst some of the observations are sufficiently im- 

 portant to aid us in our determination of species, 

 others again are recorded simply on account of the 

 interest which is attached to the knowledge of the 

 proceedings of every class of the creation. 



Let us begin with the " common " anemone. 

 Actinia mesemhryanthemum. He is of a sluggish, 

 apathetic, saturnine disposition, and when taken 

 prisoner will frequently retire within himself with a 



