ACTINIA I VORACITY AND POWER OF FASTING. 155 



tensely over it, had* become thin and flattened like a 

 pancake. All communication between the inferior 

 portion of the stomach and the mouth was of course 

 prevented, yet, instead of emaciating and dying of an 

 atrophy, the animal had availed itself of what un- 

 doubtedly had been a very untoward accident, to in- 

 crease its enjoyments and chances of double fare. A 

 new mouth, furnished with two rows of numerous 

 tentacula, was opened up on what had been the base, 

 and led to the under stomach ; the individual had 

 indeed become a sort of Siamese twin, but with 

 greater intimacy and extent in its union ! 



On the other hand, the Actinia is able to endure 

 protracted fasting with impunity, plainly indicating 

 the precariousness of its supplies ; but under such cir- 

 cumstances the animal wastes away in a remarkable 

 manner. In this condition the smallest portions of 

 food prove restorative, and by abundance its dimen- 

 sions are speedily enlarged and its strength reno- 

 vated, so that it would seem never to have suffered 

 from the prolonged starvation. Yet these creatures 

 are capable of surviving one or two, perhaps three 

 years, without further sustenance than the water can 

 afford. 



The whole exterior of the body in some species is 

 endowed with a remarkable adhesive faculty, so that 

 the skin is often covered by sand, or fragments of 

 shells. The tentacula constantly retain everything 

 that comes in contact with them. But this power of 

 adhesion is the exercise of a peculiar faculty; it is 

 optionally put in requisition, since substances are 

 sometimes allowed to pass over, or to fall from, the 



