100 HOURS WITH NATURE. 



of a Zoophyte or plant animal fall into two distinct layers 

 of membranes an external layer whose business is to 

 protect the animal and recieve impressions, and an 

 internal layer for the purpose of digesting food. 7 ' 



SPONGES, CORALS &c. 



" Now let us look at these cases which contain a 

 large number of strange, beautiful and grotesque forms. 

 All of them, as will appear from the labels, are 

 many-celled animals, and are collectively called 

 Ccelenterata, that is, animals in which the cavity of 

 the body is formed entirely by the intestine. Examine 

 these animals somewhat closely. What do we find? 

 Here are sponges and corals, objects with which all of 

 you must be familiar ; then, there are the sea firs, the 

 sea jellies and the sea anemones, which your more fortunate 

 brethren of the Madras and Bombay coasts must know 

 better. As a boy, I had an aquariam full of these interest- 

 ing objects. 



" If all these animals are carefully examined, some 

 of them will be found to differ very characteristic- 

 ally from the others ; hence the Zoologists have divided 

 them into two principal types. Now, here is an oppor- 

 tunity for you to exercise your powers of observation. 

 Tell me, please, after having inspected the specimens 

 minutely, if anything peculiar strikes you ? Yes, you are 

 perfectly right, some of them have neither feelers nor 

 spines, whereas, others are provided with feelers and 

 spines. The former belong to 



