92 POPULAR HISTOUY OF THE AQUARIUM. 



is nevertheless a very good sort of life for an Anemone to 

 lead, for it is that in which God has placed it, and it fulfils 

 the end for which it w^as created. 



I have not yet alluded to the habit of elongation pos- 

 sessed by most of the Actifii<^, and consequent great va- 

 riation of shape. We have seen specimens of A. angui- 

 comay for instance, vary from a flat closed disc, scarcely 

 thicker than a penny in the centre, to a worm-form three 

 or four inches in length, with an open flower at the top. 

 A. bellis is very apt, after elongating its body till near 

 the top, to spread the upper disc so as to give the ap- 

 pearance of a trumpet. The habit of elongation is more 

 frequently practised at night or in darkness ; but may often 

 be observed in the daytime among specimens in Aquaria. 



One circumstance remains to be noticed ; it is the man- 

 ner in which the young are produced. They are thrown 

 out from the mouth of the parent, one at a time. They 

 glide about its body for a little while, or float freely in the 

 water, but soon come to an anchor, and may be seen grow- 

 ing in groups not far from the secondary author of their 

 being. Young Actinm are very beautiful objects, showing 

 the characteristics of the species to which they severally be- 

 long, wdth more transparent delicacy than is seen in older 



