72 THE OCEAN. 



shape, somewhat flattened, about an inch and a 

 half in diameter, very variable in colour : some- 

 times being of a brilliant scarlet with pale warts, 

 like rows of ornamental beads; at other times it 

 is of a sulphur yellow, or pale green, with stripes 

 of orange colour ; and I have seen specimens of 

 a lively rose-pink, studded with green dots. When 

 expanded, it displays three or four circles of ten- 

 tacles, which are rather short and thick, and varie- 

 gated with white and red in alternate rings. 

 Sometimes, by imbibing a large quantity of water, 

 it becomes distended to twice its usual dimensions, 

 and is then nearly transparent. There is an in- 

 stinct displayed by this species, which one would 

 not expect to find in a creature of so low an organ- 

 ization, and which is worthy of our admiration, 

 as showing how mindful the gracious Creator and 

 Preserver is of His creatures' well-being. Such 

 individuals as have taken up their residence upon 

 the half-submerged rocks, where the daily recess 

 of the tide exposes them to observation, are covered 

 with rough warts, and blotched with dusky brown 

 and dull orange, and are coated with fragments of 

 shells, sea- weed, and gravel, which adhere to the 

 skin by a glutinous secretion, so strongly as not 

 to be washed off; and being thus veiled, the ani- 

 mals defy detection. On the other hand, those 

 specimens which live in deep water, as if aware 

 that the necessity for concealment no longer ex- 

 ists, have nothing of the kind, their skins are 

 smooth and naked, and adorned with the vivid 

 tints which make this species so beautiful. The 



