THE SEA ANEMONE. 195 



Those of a red colour are very similar to a piece 

 of raw flesh, and, on being touched, the re- 

 semblance is still more striking, on account of 

 the tough muscular sensation they convey. Very 

 different does the sea-anemone appear when the 

 tide is in ; it then puts on all its charms : and if 

 the sea is clear and tranquil, and not too deep, 

 may be seen in great perfection, expanding under 

 the influence of the water, as the flower unfolds 

 its petals to the sun. The cone-shaped mass of 

 inert matter is now full of life and activity ; the 

 tentaculse, before concealed within the body of 

 the animal, are now extended, reminding the 

 beholder, by their form and colour, of some gay 

 denizen of the garden ; so much so, that where 

 many of these creatures are found together, they 

 resemble the parterre adorned with many-coloured 

 blossoms. 



About twenty varieties of Actiniae common to 

 our shores are already known to the naturalist, 

 and beyond doubt many others yet remain to 

 reward his researches. The specific names of 

 many of these are the same as the flowers they 

 are supposed to resemble, while others have appel- 

 lations derived from some peculiarity of form 

 or of colour. Thus we have the cereus, the 

 daisy, the pink, the aster, the sunflower, the 

 auricula, the gemmacea, and others named 

 after their discoverers, or the particular locality 

 they inhabit. 



The Actinia mesembryanthemum, so called 

 from the resemblance of its extended tentacula 

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