2 BRTTTSH IIYDKUID ZOOPHYTES. 



of Crustacea, and, in fact, upon many other 

 creatures and objects. The shrimp trawlers' 

 nets and boats, and the ''rubbish" from the 

 larger trawling vessels afford a rich source 

 whence many rare forms may be obtained. 



Hydroids six-ft. high. If, however, 

 we were to look abroad in the Pacific, we 

 should find fixed hydroids of the stature of a 

 man, that is five or six feet high, but those 

 which we are likely to meet with here will 

 generally require the aid of a microscope, in 

 order that their beauty, structure, habits, and 

 remarkable life history may be observed. 

 They are, however, particularly convenient for 

 the microscopist, since they are of so 

 transparent a nature that their internal 

 structure and the operations of digestion and 

 circulation — not to mention the elaborate and 

 interesting stinging apparatus, which the 

 animals use for overcoming their prey — can be 

 readily observed. Some knowledge of each 

 stc]) of the animal kingdom is so necessary as 

 artbrding the key to other parts, and for a 

 proper comprehension of the whole, that even 

 creatures so low in the scale of organization 

 as the present group, should not be despised. 



