ASEXUAL REPRODUCTION IN SAGARTIA 163 



found between tidemarks on the coast of southern New Eng- 

 land. Prof. H. B. Torrey called my attention to its occurrence 

 in San Francisco Bay as early as 1906. Hargitt ('14) refers to 

 a report of its presence at Plymouth, England, in 1908, and 

 records its identification at Naples in 1911. It may be col- 

 lected at any season and lives well in the laboratory for long 

 periods. A few liters of sea-water is all that is necessary to 

 maintain many specimens indefinitely; a finger-bowl with a 

 liter of water for changes serves well for a few. It may' be 

 shipped in moist seaweed without injury. It is therefore avail- 

 able not only at the seaside, but wherever desired. 



I wish to express my hearty thanks to Prof. W. E. Castle for 

 his kindness in directing the work in its earlier stages, and to 

 Prof. H. W. Rand, whose encouragement and suggestive criti- 

 cisms have been most helpful in the later stages. The work has 

 been done chiefly in the Zoological Laboratory of Harvard Uni- 

 versity and in the Woods Hole Laboratory of the United States 

 Bureau of Fisheries. To the authorities of these institutions I 

 am indebted for the facilities generously afforded. To these and 

 to others who have in various ways lent aid, I here make grateful 

 acknowledgment. 



DESCRIPTION OF MATERIAL 



Sagartia luciae Verrill is one of the smaller sea-anemones, but 

 highly variable both in size and in relative dimensions. While 

 each individual has its particular tendency toward a more 

 elongated or a broader condition, the same individual under 

 different circumstances may be elongated and narrow or short 

 and thick, and owing to the varying amount of fluid contained 

 in its cavities its total bulk changes greatly from time to time. 

 In still water the animal tends to elongate and, in a state of 

 normal expansion, shows a length of column one and one-half 

 to three times its diameter. In strong currents the tendency is 

 tow^ard a shorter and thicker body, the length of the body 

 being even less than the diameter. Specimens attain rarely a 

 length of 20 mm. or a diameter of 15 mm., but in no case are 



