100 THE AQUARIAN NATURALIST. 



press us with an idea of the immense profusion of 

 animal life that flourishes in the recesses of the ocean. 

 The contemplation of such a scene under the micro- 

 scope is overwhelming. A cubic inch of it contains 

 enough of interesting materials to occupy the life- 

 time of the most laborious naturalist. Let us, how- 

 ever, confine our attention to the Tubularia itself, 

 and endeavour to lay before our readers the principal 

 features of its economy as a guide to their further 

 researches. Its body consists of a yellow horny stem 

 filled with mucilaginous pith, and is rooted below on 

 some solid substance, while above, it is crowned by 

 a living head, resembling a fine scarlet blossom with 

 a double row of tentacula, and often exhibiting pen- 

 dent clusters like grapes, embellished by various hues, 

 wherein red and yellow predominate. 



Though perfect as a single stem, this zoophyte 

 seldom appears in a solitary state; two, three, fifty, 

 or even a hundred and fifty stalks are sometimes 

 crowded together; and in such a case, their heads, 

 of diverse figures, shades, and dimensions, constitute 

 a brilliant animated group, too rich in nature to be 

 effectively portrayed by art. The stalks of a nu- 

 merous colony are frequently intertwined towards the 

 root, which runs as a mere prolongation of the stem 

 on the subjacent substance, or descends over its sides 

 in a tortuous form in strong adhesion, but always 

 destitute of radicles, like those whereby vegetables 

 are implanted in the earth. 



The "head" or polyp is in all respects a true 

 Hydra, and resembles exactly in its general structure 

 the beings of that extraordinary race whose history 



