THE GLOBEHORN. 291 



in the Bristol Channel ; and again on the indented coast of 

 Cork, it occurs in profusion on the perpendicular and over- 

 hanging rocks ; while it has been dredged in deep water 

 off various points of the same shores, and even in the land- 

 locked gulfs on the north-east of Ireland. It is almost 

 invariably found in close-set clusters of a dozen to fifty ; 

 and though several distinct varieties frequently occur in 

 the same immediate vicinity, yet the individuals of the 

 same group are invariably found to agree in their tints. 

 Hence I incline to believe that these groups are produced 

 either by the spontaneous fission,* or the gemmation of a 

 primitive polype. I have seen some which were evidently 

 connected together by the base, the process of separation 

 being incomplete. 



It is somewhat difficult to detach the animals ; their 

 bodies are excessively pulpy and tender, and under irrita- 

 tion they excrete a vast quantity of mucus, so dense as 

 almost to equal in consistency the substance of their own 

 bodies, and which might sometimes assume the form of 

 an epidermis. If carefully detached, however, they will 

 re-adhere ; and I have known individuals even crawl off 

 from a fragment of rock to the sides of the tank. In 

 general, however, they are stationary, and even sluggish ; 

 allowing their tentacles to be handled without contracting. 

 They open very freely, and ordinarily remain expanded. 



In a well established aquarium, they will live for a long 

 period ; I have some which have lived in captivity fifteen 

 months. They seem in other respects tenacious of life ; 

 for I have seen the tentacles and margin of one side appa- 

 rently healthy and contractile, while the whole opposite side 

 had become a putrescent mucus, sloughing away. 



All the varieties are charming ; perhaps none more so 

 than the translucent white one which I have named Coina. 



* Several in the possession of Mr. Holds^-orth spontaneously divided. 



u 2 



