BY THE SEASIDE— ANIMAL LIFE 



Frequently the sponge we examine may be found 

 to be studded with many yellowish spots; closer 

 examination will show that these spots are composed 

 of very small jelly covered eggs. Later these eggs 

 find their way into the cavities of the sponge and 

 are forced therefrom in the currents of water. Each 

 of the young sponges thus expelled is furnished with 

 a covering of little whips, by means of which it 

 swims about till it can find a suitable spot on which 

 to anchor and complete its growth. 



The Sea Anemone, which has already provided 

 us with objects for our microscope, has many near 

 relatives which we must make a point of examining, 

 while we have the opportunity. Many of these 

 creatures, or rather their colonies for they do not 

 live singly, are to the naked eye, strangely like sea- 

 weeds. A number of them are moss-like and may 

 be found on wooden breakwaters and similar situa- 

 tions when the tide is low ; they should be collected 

 and examined and, to see them at their best they 

 should be examined under water. It is hardly neces- 

 sary to describe any one of these colonies in detail, 

 for they are so numerous that the one we described 

 might not come into the hands of our readers for 

 a long time. In general characters they are all 

 somewhat similar so we will confine ourselves to 

 generalities. For the most part, the stems and 

 branches of these colonies are of the thickness of 

 thread. As we watch them under the microscope 

 we shall see that they are studded with little cups 

 and, presently, from each little cup there appears 



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