30 



just as others had compared them to fruits of mignonette 

 {cf. Clusius, "Planta marina Kesedje facie"). The two 

 figures given by Ellis and Solaiider are fairly good. 



Esper (1794) devoted about eiglit pages to the "sea-acorn 

 horny coral," realising that it occupied a position by itself. 

 But he was entirely mistaken in his interpretation of the 

 animal, imagining that he had to do with an axis like that of 

 Antipathes, on which little creatures related to barnacles had 

 settled down ! Yet his description, partly based on those of 

 Gunnerus and Baster, is very accurate, and, as his work is 

 somewhat inaccessible, I may be allowed to make a few 

 extracts in free translation. The barnacle-bearing Gorgon is 

 confined to Norwegian coasts, and does not occur in Icelandic 

 waters; a height of 6 to 8 inches is common, but a large 

 specimen was 2\ feet high; most of the branches are 

 truncate, but some taper; the colour of the fresh axis is 

 greenish, but it soon becomes brown ; tlie axis is horny and 

 stony, and covered by fine longitudinal lines ; there may be 

 forty-eight campanulate shells or " houses " on an inch ; the 

 colour when fresh is yellow, but it soon becomes dirty white; 

 in most cases the mouths of the houses were towards the 

 tips of the branches, but a few were turned in the reverse 

 direction, and some were quite awry ; the houses are formed 

 of rows of imbricating brittle scales, with 6-8 parts making 

 a lid ; but the houses do not really belong to the coral, for 

 while it is related to Gorgonia antipathes, they are related to 

 barnacles (Lepas). 



It was Lamouroux who first recognised the essential 

 peculiarities of this type, separated it from Gorgonians, and 

 established the genus Primnoa. 



In the Edinhiirgh New Philosophical Journal for 1847, 

 Charles Stokes wrote as follows : — "Primnoa lepadi/era is 

 found, I believe, only on the coast of Norway. I have 

 specimens nearly 2 feet in height, which were presented to 

 me by Sir Arthur de Capell Brooke, Bart., who collected 

 them there in 1820. He received accounts of their growing 

 to a much larger size. They are found at great depths, 

 varying from 150 to 300 fathoms. At these depths they 

 grow in company with a large branching Alcyonium of a red 



