ACTINIA. 935 
it is an admirable spectacle to behold the beautiful velvety 
(veloutées) colours which they display. They resemble the 
richest and the most varied carpets; near them are seen 
Gorgons, Serpulas, whose white, yellow, and red tufts shine 
with the liveliest splendour, and Amphitrites which raise 
towards the surface of the water their head crowned with 
palms rich in the most varied hues. I could not tire myself 
in admiring the profusion with which these animals are 
grouped and intermingled; it was with regret, that after 
having walked long in the midst of them I resolved to tear 
them from the bosom of the water, and to put fragments of 
them into a pail (Zaquet), which 1 caused immediately to be 
sent home, that I might examine at leisure the animals 
peculiar to each of the polypidoms.” 
This is language that is employed to describe foreign 
Actinia ; but nearly as strong are the terms in which the sea- 
anemones of our own shores are described by one who 
knew them well, Sir J. G. Dalyell. “Some are distin- 
guished by the beauty of their form, some by symmetrical 
proportions or by the radiance of their colours. Rows of 
delicate organs arranged in concentric circles ornament the 
surface ; or deep-waving lobes, bordered with luxuriant 
fringes, are pendent from the margin. Many are green, or 
