STKUCTURE OF THE ANEMONE. 155 



What is known of the reproductive system of Anemones ? 

 Not much, and that little confusedly. Our English text- 

 books are somewhat precise ; but the precision is for the 

 most part that of error. I carried with me to the coast 

 this amount of definite error, which gradually revealed itself 

 as error in the course of a series of investigations. Tliat the 

 reader may follow clearly the course of reasoning presently 

 to be traced, it is necessary to begin with a few explana- 

 tions, which the better instructed will pardon. 



Let us first fix in our minds a definite idea of the struc- 

 ture of the Anemone, as far as it will be involved in the 

 subsequent remarks. Imagine a glove expanded into a 

 perfect cylinder by air, the thumb being removed, and the 

 fingers encircling, in two or three rows, the summit of the 

 cylinder, while at the base the glove is closed by a fiat sur- 

 face of leather. If now on that disc which lies within the 

 circle of fingers we press doT\Ti the centre, and so force the 

 elastic leather to fold inwards, and form a sort of sac sus- 

 pended in the cylinder, we have by this means made a 

 mouth and stomach ; we then cut a small hole at the bot- 

 tom of the sac, and thus make a free communication with 

 the general cavity. We then divide this general cavity by 

 numerous partitions of card attached to the wall of the 

 cavity, and form a number of separate chambers called the 

 interseptal spaces. Just as the cavity of the finger is con- 

 tinuous with the cavity of the glove, so are the cavities of 

 the tentacles continuous with the interseptal spaces. In 

 these spaces will be found long coils, which are sometimes 

 seen lolling out of the mouth, and always bulge out when 



