28 



NATURAL HISTORY. 



tion of anatomical matters is just enough to show the relationships of the 

 sea-anemones to the corals. 



Most beautiful animals are the sea-anemones, as they hang or sit 

 expanded when covered by water. The cut of one form from the other 

 hemisphere (see page 30), shows their beauty as well as it can be done in 

 black and white, but their colors are simply indescribable. Every imagin- 

 able color is represented in the group, but usually some of the more mod- 

 est tints prevail rather than loud and staring colors. To appreciate their 

 beauty one should see them in their native haunts, or, in default, turn to 



Fig. 29.-— Venus's girdle jelly-fish (Cestvm veneris), reduced. The alimentary tract crosses the girdle 

 iti the middle : the rows of combs run to each end of the belt. 



the plates of Andre's magnificent monograph of the species found in the 

 Mediterranean, or see the delicate glass models made by Blaschka, now to 

 be found in almost every museum in the country. 



On our coast from Long Island north, the fringed anemone (Actinoloba 

 marginata) is the most common species. In color it varies considerably, 

 from white and yellow through brown to brick-red. It most affects shady 

 spots where it is not exposed to the full rays of the sun, and is especially 

 abundant on the piles of wharves and bridges, and on rocky bottoms. 

 When disturbed or left bare by the tide, it contracts into a hemispherical 

 lump, but when the circumstances are favorable, it expands ; first length- 



