166 Objects for the Microscope. 



CHAPTER VIII. 



SLIDES OF ZOOPHYTES. 



" Lord, how manifold are thy works ! in wisdom hast thou made 

 them all : the earth is full of thy riches. So is the great and wide sea, 

 wherein are things creeping innumerable." 



Psalm civ. 24, 25. 



" Look who list thy gazeful eyes to feed 

 Wit h sight of that is fair : look on the frame 

 Of t his wide universe, and therein read 

 The endless kinds of creatures which by name 

 Tho u canst not count, much less their natures aim ; 

 All which are made with wondrous wise respect, 

 And all with admirable beauty deckt." 



Spenser. 



AN explanation of these useful slides to every sea-side 

 student seems necessary, from the fact that many persons 

 inquire, " What is a Zoophyte ?" and if shown one of these 

 under the microscope, will presently declare that it cer- 

 tainly may be an animal, for it moves. This has happened 

 to myself more than once, and an explanation required to 

 prove the fact is a post-mortem examination, and then we 

 only see the body, or rather the framework, which sup- 

 ported the once living polype. 



These are the skeletons of Zoophytes mounted to show 

 the beauty of their structure, and the variations of form 

 which determine the species. 



If we would see them alive, we must gather them at the 

 sea-side fresh from their native element, on the sea-weed 

 or the rock, and by placing them in a watchglassful of water 

 under the microscope, the question " What is a Zoophyte ?" 

 will be answered far better than any tongue can tell or pen 

 describe. Nevertheless, to appreciate these slides we must 

 explain that Zoophytes are, with one exception, marine 

 animals, varying in size from the little microscopic creatures 

 mounted here, to the large tree-like Gorgonias, and the 

 huge Madrepores and Corals of the tropical seas. They 

 are plant-like animals, often mistaken for sea-weeds, 



