THE SHORES OF BEITAIN. 61 



massive tentacles, often of the purest white, ringed 

 and banded with olive or purple, look like some 

 splendid flowers in a parterre, and tempt the hand 

 to pluck them. 



Very closely allied to the Sea-anemones are the 

 Corals. We have two very beautiful species on the 

 coasts of north and south Devon — th(3 Cup Coral and 

 the Star Coral. These are, in fact, Anemones, with 

 this peculiarity : that the flesh has the power of de- 

 positing a skeleton of stone, which takes the form of 

 a circular wall or cup, with a number of upright 

 plates running from it towards the centre. In the 

 former of these species {Caryojyhyllia SmitJiii), the 

 upright plates converge regularly ; but in the other 

 [Balanojjhjllia regia), they run in threes, forming a 

 curious six-rayed star. The colours of both are ex- 

 quisitely beautiful.'" 



Each of the animal-flowers yet mentioned, is a 

 distinct and independent animal ; but there are 

 many which, while they possess a general similarity 

 in structure to these, exist only in aggregated com- 

 munities, produced by the successive putting forth of 

 budding polypes from the original individual, which 

 remain permanently united, like the branches of a 

 tree, or the heads of an old mass of house-leek. Of 

 the plated Corals, we have one native species that is 

 compound, the Lopliohelia prolifera, a fine shrub-like 

 one from the Hebrides, but these are chiefly found in 

 the tropical seas. The teat-shaped bodies, familiarly 



• For fuller particulars of the^e beautiful animals, the reader is 

 referred to my " History of the British Sea-Auemone.-," with 

 coloured figures of all the species. 



