THE ANNALS 



AND 



MAGAZINE OF NATURAL HISTORY. 



[SECOND SERIES.] 

 No. 47. NOVEMBER 1851. 



XXVIII, — Notes on British Zoophytes, mth descriptions of some 

 new species. By the Rev. Thomas Hixcks, B.A. 



[With a Plate.] 

 To the Editors of the AnnaU of Natural History. 



Gentlemen, 



The following miscellaneous notes relate to the British Biyozoa. 

 I am not prepared to vouch for the novelty of all the observa- 

 tions which I here record. But in the course of a long and 

 patient study of these interesting beings some facts have occurred 

 to me, which I have not met with in the works of any of the 

 English authors to which I have access, and which I venture to 

 hope may prove of some value as a contribution to the history of 

 the tribe. Even if I should repeat, in some eases, the observa- 

 tions of others, the testimony of one more independent witness 

 may not be altogether worthless. 



I have also been fortunate enough to obtain one or two spe- 

 cies, which I believe to be new to the British fauna, and which 

 I shall have the pleasure of introducing to the readers of the 

 ' Annals ' in the following pages : — 



The AvicuLARiuM. 



The " Birds'-head processes," with which some of the species 

 of Biyozoa are furnished, have engaged the careful attention of 

 naturalists, and their form and movements have been accurately 

 described. But though we have many conjectures as to their 

 precise function, and relation to the oeconomy of the animal, few 

 facts have as yet been recorded which throw light on the uses of 

 this curious portion of structure. Such being the case, the fol- 

 lowing observation may have some interest. 



Ann. b^ Mag. N. Hist. Ser. 2. Vol. viii. 23 



