THE PLUMOSE- ANEMONE. 61 



felicitous, that if a stranger at the sea-side bear 

 it in mind, he could hardly fail to identify the ' crass./ 

 were he to meet with a specimen in a rocky pool. 

 Not the least remarkable feature in connection with 

 these animal-flowers, is the extraordinary variety of 

 colouring which various specimens display. 



A. troglodytes, is seldom found larger than a florin. 

 Its general size is that of a shilling. From the 

 description previously given, the reader will be able 

 to make the acquaintance of this anemone without 

 any trouble whatever. 



A. dianthus (Plumose anemone), is one of the most 

 delicately beautiful of all the Actinias ; it can, more- 

 over, be very readily identified in its native haunts. 

 Its colour is milky-white, body, base, and tentacula, 

 all present the same chaste hue. Specimens, how- 

 ever, are sometimes found lemon-coloured, and 

 occasionally of a deep orange tint. Various are the 

 forms which this zoophyte assumes, yet each one is 

 graceful and elegant. 



The most remarkable as well as the most common 

 shape, according to my experience, is that of a lady's 

 corset, such as may often be seen displayed in 

 fashionable milliners' windows. Even to the slender 

 waist, the interior filled with a mass of lace-work, 

 the rib-like streaks, and the general contour, sug- 

 gestive of the Hogarthian line of beauty, the likeness 

 is sustained. 



When entirely closed, this anemone, unlike 



