The Sea Anemones. 



607 



some other object, and from this, at intervals, rise slen- 

 der stalks, often branched in the most elegant manner. 

 Upon the delicate branches we find little horny cups, 

 each of which is the habitation of a tiny Polyp, fur- 

 nished with a mouth and stomach, and with a circlet of 

 slender arms to enable it to capture its prey. Other 

 species are enclosed only in a soft membrane, but all 

 rise from creeping roots. 



THE SEA ANEMONES. 



BESIDES the Polypi just mentioned as nearly related to 

 the fresh-water Hydra and those forming the different 

 kinds of Corals, the sea produces a vast number of other 

 Zoophytes, the commonest kinds of which are well 

 known as Sea Anemones. These animals are found 

 adhering to rocks on all shores ; they consist of a rather 

 thick column, the base of which forms an adhesive disc, 

 while its summit, which is also a disc, shows a puckered 

 mouth in the centre surrounded by several rows of 



