THE VESTLET. 
273 
Mr. E. Edwards, of Menai Bridge, wlio has politely sent 
me a peculiarly fine specimen, has also favoured me with 
the following interesting note of tlie haunts and habits 
of the species. 
“ The only account I can give of the Cerianthus is, that 
I have found it in the Menai Straits in two distinct places, 
about five miles apart. 
“ The ground is a mixtime of stones, gravel, and mud. 
The disk (some of a light and some of a dark colour) when 
first seen is on a level with tlie surface of the ground, but 
on approaching instantly disappears into its sac. 
“ The operation of taking it is difficult, as on the least 
disturbing of the gTound it slips through the sac and is 
lost. The plan I adopt is to surround it with two or three 
spades, and each to act at the same moment, so as to 
undermine it in an instant, and press the ground, which 
causes its escape to be more difficult.” 
Mr. Holdsworth informs me that he found a specimen of 
this species * at the island of Herm, near Guernsey. “ It 
was close to low-water mark, buried among mud and 
stones, with a large piece of granite covering it. Not 
more than half an inch of the tube was exposed when 
the stone was removed ; and I found the rest winding 
about the irregularities of the ground in a most tortuous 
manner, turning sharp corners in its course downwards.” 
M. Ilaime {Op. cit.) furnishes us with some interesting 
details of the development of C. memhranaceus, which 
doubtless apply equally well to the present species. “ The 
young,” he observes, “which I obtained, all died in tlie 
course of a few days. I never found any young advanced, 
within the parent, as is so common with Actinice ; but the 
eggs, which float freely there, had already passed the first 
* It ia right, however, to observe that the distinction between this 
.species and C. memhranaceus was not then suspected. 
T 
