116 SEA-SIDE STUDIES. 



advantage over the hippopotamus of being somewhat less 

 expensive, and less troublesome, to keep. Were Sea-cows 

 as plentiful as Anemones, one could not make pets of them 

 with the same comfort. There would be objections to Potty 

 in the drawing-room. Tliere would be embarrassments in 

 the commissariat. There would be insurgents among the 

 domestics ; for the best-tempered Jane might find it impos- 

 sible to endure the presence of such a pet, and might reso- 

 lutely refuse to bring up his water, and clean out his crib ; 

 whereas, although the red-armed Jane thinks you a little 

 cracked when you introduce "them worm things" into your 

 house, she keeps her opinions within the circle of the kit- 

 chen, and consents to receive her wages without a murmur. 



It is diflicult to say what occasioned this sudden enthu- 

 siasm for Anemones : lovely, indeed, but by no means the most 

 lovely, and certainly not the most interesting wonders of 

 the deep. Mr Gosse by his pleasant books, and Mr ]\Iitchell 

 by his tanks in the Eegent's Park Zoological Gardens, have 

 mainly contributed to the diffusion of the enthusiasm ; and 

 now that enterprise has made a commercial branch of it, we 

 may consider the taste established, for at least some years. 



One good result of this diffusion will be an extension of 

 our knowledge, not only of these, but of many other of the 

 simpler animals. For several years the writings of zoologists 

 have given a place to observations on tlio Anemones ; but 

 the observations have been incomplete, and all handbooks 

 and treatises which repeat these observations are, very natu- 

 rally, croAvded witli errors. To give the reader an idea of 

 the state of current opinion on this one topic, it is enough 



