THE VESTLET. 273 



Mr. E. Edwards, of Menai Bridge, who has politely sent 

 me a peculiarly fine specimen, has also favoured me with 

 the following interesting note of the haunts and habits 

 of the species. 



" The only account I can give of the Cerianthus is, that 

 I have found it in the Menai Straits in two distinct places, 

 about five miles apart. 



" The ground is a mixture of stones, gravel, and mud. 

 The disk (some of a light and some of a dark colour) when 

 first seen is on a level with the surface of the ground, but 

 on approaching instantly disappears into its sac. 



" The operation of taking it is difficult, as on the least 

 disturbing of the ground it slips through the sac and is 

 lost. The plan I adopt is to surround it with two or three 

 spades, and each to act at the same moment, so as to 

 undermine it in an instant, and press the ground, which 

 causes its escape to be more difficult." 



Mr. Holdsworth informs me that he found a specimen of 

 this species * at the island of Herm, near Guernsey. " It 

 was close to low-water mark, buried among mud and 

 stones, with a large piece of granite covering it. Not 

 more than half an inch of the tube was exposed when 

 the stone was removed; and I found the rest winding 

 about the irregularities of the ground in a most tortuous 

 manner, turning sharp corners in its course downwards." 



M. Haime ( Op. cit.) furnishes us* with some interesting 

 details of the development of C. membranaceus, which 

 doubtless apply equally well to the present species. " The 

 young," he observes, " which I obtained, all died in the 

 course of a few days. I never found any young advanced, 

 within the parent, as is so common with Actinice ; but the 

 eggs, which float freely there, had already passed the first 



* It is right, however, to observe that the distinction between this 

 species and C. membranaeetu was not then suspected. 



