DIGESTION OF ZOOPHYTES* 71 



Emily. This is a very close approximation to the 

 mode of nourishment in vegetables, for these feelers 

 seem to act very much like the roots of plants. 



Dr. B. The economy of the Zoophytes evidently 

 manifests an approximation to that of vegetables. Those 

 sea-anemones which are in the form of a ray, the whole 

 interior surface constituting the digestive apparatus, may 

 be turned inside out, and the food digested just as well 

 as before by the external surface. Some plants, you 

 know, may be planted with their branches in the soil and 

 their roots in the air, and after a time, the former will 

 be converted into true roots, and the latter will put forth 

 leaves and blossoms. 



We have now terminated the history of digestion. 

 Before we can follow the nutritious portions of our food 

 any farther, we must consider the function of circulation 

 as it is called, and the organs by which it is carried on. 

 But we have already greatly exceeded our usual time, 

 and must defer this subject till to-morrow. 



