2 MCMURRICH. [VoL. III. 
All the forms collected were littoral in their habitat. Owing 
to the want of the proper facilities I was unable to do any 
dredging in deep water. 
A few remarks upon the methods of preserving Actiniz are 
necessary. The object of my visit to New Providence being 
partly to obtain material for class work and specimens for use 
in the illustration of my lectures, I was unable to devote as 
much time as could be wished to the study of the living speci- 
mens of Actiniz. All that I was able to do was to make 
careful colored sketches of the various forms collected. The 
preservation of Actiniz in a suitable condition for future study 
is a matter of some difficulty, and has greatly hindered a thorough 
study of the group. The great difficulty experienced in killing 
the animals sufficiently rapidly to prevent contraction is the main 
obstacle, and the method of first producing torpor by the use 
of chloroform or nicotine, as practised by the Hertwigs (’79), is 
tedious and not always successful. I was in hopes that good 
results might be obtained by the use of cocaine, but my experi- 
ments with it gave negative results. The success of any method 
depends greatly on the character of the form under treatment. 
Methods which will give good results with the Zoanthidz, for 
instance, will yield failure quite as often as success with more 
contractile forms. . For a collector who cannot give the time 
required for the proper carrying on of the narcotizing methods, 
my experience has led me to advise the following method of 
procedure. After the general characteristics —the coloration, 
presence or absence of tubercles, the dimensions, and such 
easily observable features — have been carefully noted with as 
much detail as possible, the animal is placed in a jar just wide 
enough to allow its complete expansion, and with just enough 
water to cover it when fully expanded. When this condition is 
reached, a glass syringe is filled with Perenyi’s fluid, and this 
is suddenly and rapidly injected into the interior of the animal, 
the nozzle of the syringe having been quickly inserted into its 
mouth. At the same time, if possible, a quantity of the same 
fluid is poured over the animal, so that it is bathed without and 
within with a tolerably strong mixture of Perenyi’s fluid. It 
is left to the action of the fluid for about half an hour, and is 
then to be treated successively with 50, 70, and 90 per cent 
alcohol, care being taken to inject a considerable quantity of 
the spirits into the interior at each change. 
