88 POPULAR HISTORY OF THE AQUARIUM. 



find in them a very pleasant dish. The texture is some- 

 thing like calf s-foot jelly ; taste and smell resembling that 

 of crab or lobster. Eaten with sauce^ they are savoury. 

 The author of ' Devonshire Rambles ' gives an amusing ac- 

 count of the manner of his first becoming acquainted with 

 Actinian dainties. '^ The next morning/' remarks that gen- 

 tlemaUj " I began operations. As it was an experiment, 

 I did not choose to commit my pet morsels to the servants, 

 but took the saucepan in my own hand. As I had no in- 

 formation as to how long they required boihng, I had to 

 find it out for myself. Some I put into the water (sea- 

 water) cold, and allowed to boil gradually. As soon as the 

 water boiled, I tried one ; it was tough, and evidently un- 

 done. The next I took out after three minutes' boiling ; 

 this was better ; and one at five minutes was better still, 

 but not so good as the one which had boiled ten. I then 

 put the remaining ones into boiling water, and let them 

 remain over the fire boiling for ten minutes, and these were 

 the best of all, being more tender, as well as more inviting 

 in appearance. I must confess that the first bit I essayed 

 caused a sort of lumpy feeling in my throat, as if a sen- 

 tinel guarded the way, and said, ' It shan't come here.' 

 This sensation, however, I felt to be unworthy of a philo- 



