POLYPUS. 



487 



more quarrelsome, frequenting, too, the same station 

 and flowers ; and a constant, warfare exists between 

 them. We shall see these diminutive creatures, 

 whenever they come near each other, dart into 

 action, and continue buffeting one another about till 

 one retires from the contest, when the victor returns 

 in triumph to the station he had left. Should the 

 enemy again advance, the combat is renewed ; but, 

 should a cloud obscure the sun, or a breeze chill the 

 air, their ardour becomes abated, and contention 

 ceases. The pugnacious disposition of the argus 

 butterfly soon deprives it of much of its beauty ; and, 

 unless "captured soon after its birth, we find the 

 margins of its wings torn and jagged, the elegant 

 blue plumage rubbed from the wings, and the creature 

 become dark and shabby." Jaunt, of a Xnt., p. "277. 



There are about fifteen British species, including 

 the azure blue (P. argiolits), relative to which a long 

 controversy has been maintained in natural history, 

 on the question, whether it is a double or single- 

 brooded species ; the small blue (P. alms') ; and the 

 mazarine blue (P. aria}, which seem to belong to a 

 distinct subgenus established by Dr. Horsfield in the 

 Lepidoptera Javanica under the name of Pit/iccops. 

 The others, including the large blue {P. Arion), 

 figured in our plate of British butterflies ; the chalk- 

 hill blue (P. Con/don) ; the Adonis (P. Adonis') ; the 

 common blue (P. Alexis') ; and others, are true Po- 

 li/ommtiti. 



POLYPUS. Under this head we shall introduce 

 some interesting matter descriptive of a class of 

 animated nature which, take it altogether, may be 

 considered as the most wonderful of created beings, 

 proving, beyond all argument to the contrary, the 

 opinion every enlightened naturalist must subscribe 

 to, that no matter how inferior in the scale of nature 

 animals may be, they, nevertheless, have functions to 

 perform as important as those of the mightiest struc- 

 ture ; and another convincing proof to the reflective 

 mind, that, in proportion to the tenacity of life 

 enjoyed by these animals, and their reproductive 

 powers, in the same ratio their usefulness must be 

 appreciated, though it cannot always be fathomed by 

 finite wisdom. We propose, with this opportunity, 

 to introduce some account of the Po/i/pi " peopling 

 the vast empire of the deep," those wonder-working 

 stone-masons, whose incessant industry raises moun- 

 tains from ocean's profound abyss, forming what are 

 commonly termed coral rocks and reefs, so remark- 

 able in the south seas and other parts of the world. 

 We shall, in the first place, separate the fresh- 

 water Poli/pi from those which we intend calling the 

 coralliferous Polypi, that is, the animals constructing 

 barriers that defy the tempest's devastating shocks 

 in the midst of ocean's empire, forming immense 

 islands destined to fall under the controul of man, 

 and to afford him an opportunity of exercising his 

 superior intellect, in bending all things created to 

 his necessity or convenience under the divine will of 

 his inscrutable Maker. We will commence with the 

 fresh-water Polypi. Most of the observations are 

 the result of an able naturalist's long study many 

 we can personally confirm and the others we fully 

 rely upon, though they are so marvellous as to excite 

 scepticism in persons altogether unused to investigate 

 nature's mysterions operations. 



Polypi, whether marine or fluviatile, are gelatinous 

 animals, consisting of a long tubular body, fixed at 

 the base, and surrounded at the mouth by arms or 



tentacula. They are many of them inhabitants of 

 the fresh waters, and are among: the most wonderful 

 productions of nature. The particulars of their life, 

 their modes of propagation and powers of reproduc- 

 tion, after being cut to pieces, are truly astonishing, 

 and baffle the efforts of reason to account for. Nor 

 was it. till after repeated experiments by eminent 

 naturalists that the scepticism of the philosophic 

 world was overcome. The green polypus, a species 

 that will fully illustrate the nature of the whole tribe, 

 is found in clear water, and may be seen in great 

 numbers in small ditches and trenches of fields 

 generally in the months of April and May, It 

 attaches its body to the under parts of leaves, and to 

 the vegetables growing beneath the water. The 

 long tubular body has its head furnished with eight, 

 and sometimes ten, long feelers or tentacula, sur- 

 rounding the mouth. It possesses the faculty of 

 contracting its body very suddenly when disturbed, 

 appearing like a round green spot ; but the danger 

 past, it resumes its usual position. 



It is of a very predaceous nature, and feeds on the 

 various species of small worms or aquatic insects that 

 unguardedly approach it, when they are instantly 

 seized by the polypus, conveyed by its arms into the 

 mouth, and gradually swallowed as a snake gorges a 

 frog. It is capable of swallowing worms thrice its 

 own size, from the dilatibility of its body. Two of 

 these animals have been seen attacking the same 

 worm by opposite extremities, each gradually swallow- 

 ing its respective portion, till, their two heads coming- 

 in contact, the larger one has gorged not only the 

 worm, but the polypus at the opposite end ; and, 

 what is more wonderful, the animal thus engulfed, 

 after remaining a considerable time so confined, has 

 been ejected unhurt with the long-contested prize, 

 w hich he then remained the undisturbed possessor of. 

 The remains of animals upon which they feed are 

 evacuated by the mouth, that being the only aperture 

 to their bodf. The multiplication of the species is 

 by a process nearly resembling vegetation. The 

 young are seen emerging from the parent's sides, one 

 or two at a time, and sometimes more ; and these 

 young are frequently again prolific before they drop 

 off. Thus it is no uncommon circumstance to see 

 two or three generations at one time on the parent 

 polypus. 



The most marvellous, but, nevertheless, true cir- 

 cumstance respecting these extraordinary animals, is 

 their tenacity of life and power of reproduction. 



It appears almost impossible to destroy their exist- 

 ence. Mr. Trembley, of Geneva, records numerous 

 experiments made by him. He relates, that, when 

 they are cut into small pieces, each portion produces 

 its own head and tentacula, springing into life again, 

 and multiplied almost to an endless extent, by such 

 dissection upon each of them, it became a perfect 

 animal. Even when turned inside out it suffers no 

 material injury, shortly after taking its usual food, and 

 resuming all its other functions. 



The above brief view of the fluviatile, or fresh 

 water polypus, will give an idea of their wonderful 

 formation. But this subject might be enlarged upon 

 to the extent of volumes, were we to embrace it in its 

 fullest extent, and even then but a very limited know- 

 ledge would be obtained of these marvellous beings. 



We will now proceed to give some description of 

 the marine Polypi, or at least such of them as are the 

 fabricators of Corals, Madrepores, Gorgomee, &c. Un- 



