I2O THE STORY OF ANIMAL LIFE 



torn up " by the roots "* and washed in by the 

 tide. When fresh it has a pleasant scent, which 

 has been compared to that of Lemon Verbena, 

 and a pinkish colour, due to the presence of the 

 little inhabitants in their cells. When dry it has 

 no odour, the cells are empty, and the colour a 

 pale drab like that of a dead Coralline. Its tex- 

 ture is, however, much more crisp and brittle, and 

 less horny, than that of a dead Coralline: it 

 grows in flat, forked expansions, much resem- 

 bling in outline the fronds of several common 

 seaweeds; and each side of these is covered with 

 a diamond pattern of little cells. This crowded 

 arrangement of the cells, with a tendency to as- 

 sume a geometrical pattern, is the readiest feature 

 by which the beginner may distinguish a Sea-Mat 

 from a Coralline. The latter arrange their cells 

 in a free-growing, tree-like or fernlike form, with- 

 out any crowding of the units into a geometrical 

 pattern. The division of the flat leaf-like colony 

 by two, resulting in bifurcated branches, is an- 

 other obvious feature of the Sea-Mat. 



Covering and to the botanist's eye disfiguring 

 the branches of many sea-weeds, and growing 

 upon oyster-shells, tangle-roots, and other fixed 

 objects, we may find many little incrustations which 

 remind us of the lichens of the land : the diamond 

 pattern of little cells shows us, however, that 

 these things are relations of the Sea-Mats. The 

 name of Bryozoa, Moss-Corals, was formerly given 

 to these growths, Many of them bear long hair- 

 like processes at regular intervals ; these, which 

 are large enough to be plainly seen with the 

 naked eye, afford a ready means of recognising 

 these creatures. 



The Polyzoa include freshwater as well a 



