4:06 THE MICROSCOPE. 



or design. Commencing betimes from a depth of a 

 thousand or fifteen hundred feet, they work upwards 

 in a perpendicular direction ; and on arriving at the 

 surface form a crescent, presenting the back of the arch in 

 that direction from which the storms and winds gene- 

 rally proceed ; by which means the wall protects the busy 

 millions at work beneath and within. These breakwaters 

 will resist more powerful seas than if formed of granite ; 

 rising as they do in a mighty expanse of water, exposed to 

 the utmost powers of the heavy and tumultuous billows 

 that eternally lash against them. 



The wonders we have brought to view in our glance at 

 the families constituting the zoophytic kingdom, must be 

 regarded with astonishment by every reflective being. We 

 have seen how wonderfully and fearfully they are made 

 we have seen the surprising faculties with which they are 

 endowed we have seen the perfection and order bestowed 

 upon them we have seen the singular faculties they pos- 

 sess to perform the allotted duties of their destiny; and 

 seeing all these things, we read in plain intelligible lan- 

 guage, the wisdom, power, and goodness of an almighty and 

 beneficent Being. 



We may here state, that we have taken a somewhat 

 more extended view of this department of animated 

 nature, from the very circumstance of its presenting a 

 wider field of deeply interesting and curious subjects 

 for inquiry to the microscopist ; and the more especially 

 have these subjects attracted great public attention, 

 since the spirited attempt on the part of the Zoolo- 

 gical Society of London to afford us the opportunity of 

 more closely and frequently observing their remarkable 

 habits, when enclosed in glass tanks, forming what we now 

 recognise as marine vivaria or aquaria. There the visitor 

 may see the Sdbella, the Actinia, of brilliant hues, and 

 many kinds ; Mollusca, Annelida, Crustacea, &c. ; all pur- 

 suing their various avocations, enjoying themselves with- 

 out restraint, under circumstances scarcely distinguishable 

 from those of nature. 



The author, in his management of aquaria, finds shallow 

 glass vessels, of an inexpensive character, and natural sea- 

 water, best suited to the habits of the animals. The red 



