Bibliographical Notices. 49 



Body cylindraceous, adhering by a broad base ; tentacula disposed in 

 circles round the mouth, elongated, tapering, and incapable of 

 being retracted within the body. 



It is the same with " Anemonia" of Risso. Two species are re- 

 corded, Anthea cereus and A. Tuedice. Local names are always ob- 

 jectionable, more especially when the distribution of the species is 

 known to be wide, and when it has already received a name. Would 

 it not have been preferable to have followed Risso, and styled the 

 second species A. edulis ? By the way, is it not full time for natu- 

 ralists to reconcile the strange diversity of opinion as to the nervous 

 system oi Actinia ? Somebody must be in error, one set of observers 

 declaring there is little or no trace of a nervous system, and another 

 (including Dr. Grant) asserting that the nervous system is well 

 known and evident. In several popular works on natural history a 

 diagram of the nerves at the base of the Actinia is figured, without 

 a note to mention the doubts regarding it. See, for instance, the 

 article ''Actinia" in the 'Penny Cyclopaedia.' 



In the order Ascidioida, Dr. Johnston enumerates twenty-three 

 genera and seventy species. The complicated structure and singular 

 polypidom of the zoophytes of this order render them objects of great 

 interest. To Dr. Farre we are indebted chiefly for our knowledge of 

 their organization. Dr. Johnston gives an excellent abstract of Dr. 

 Farre's researches and a very complete history of the British species. 

 In this order the genus " Berenicea" of Fleming is styled "Lepralia," 

 the former name being preoccupied. One new species, Lepralia va- 

 riolosa, is described. Doubtless many unrecorded forms of these 

 curious Lichens of the animal kingdom exist on our shores. A 

 new Flustra (F. Murrayana, Bean, MSS.) is also characterized. The 

 Alcyonidium echinatum axid parasiticum are so different in habit from 

 the other two native species, that it might be advisable to separate 

 them from the genus with which they are at present associated. 

 Under Alcyonella will be found a most interesting account of that 

 singular polype, and lastly, the Plumatella sultana found in Berwick- 

 shire by Sir John Graham Dalyell, is added to the British Fauna. 



The plates and cuts which ornament Dr. Johnston's work are ad- 

 mirable and need no comment. They, of themselves, are most im- 

 portant additions to the natural history of our country, and for the 

 most of them we are indebted to the taste and skill of his lady. 

 Many and valuable have been the contributions to natural science 

 by the ladies of Britain, and often have their good services earned the 

 philosopher's gratitude and admiration. From the publication of 

 Lister's admirable folio on shells to the appearance of the delightful 

 Ann. Nat. Hist. Yo\..L No. 14. March IS39. e 



