DR WRIGHT'S OBSERVATIONS. 169 



which is taken from the Edinburgh Philosophical Journal, 

 will be read with o;reat interest : — 



" The author stated that Actinia dianthus, the Plumose 

 Sea Anemone of Dalyell, was found on the shores of the 

 Firth of Forth, generally on rocks which were uncovered by 

 the sea only at very low tides. Its habitat was not extensive ; 

 it is gregarious, great numbers being frequently found in a very 

 limited space. At Arran he had seen several hundreds closely 

 ao-o-reo-ated together, clothing the roof of a wide low cave, 

 and hanging down like so many membranous bags half filled 

 with water. A similar colony had existed on the perpen- 

 dicular surface of a single large stone opposite to the Baths 

 at Seafield : and ao;ain, another on the under surface of a 

 large overhan<iino: rock at Wardie. It had been a matter of 

 question with the author, how the young of these Actinias, 

 if ejected from the mouth, as in Actinia mesembryanthemum, 

 troglodytes, hellis, and gemmacea, were able to attach them- 

 selves to the rocks, instead of falling down and being washed 

 away by the tide. It was known that Actinia mesembryan- 

 themum, troglodytes, and bellls were exceedingly prolific. Sir 

 John Dalyell and Dr Cobbold having seen twenty or thirty 

 produced at a single litter from the first species, and yet the 

 number of very young Actinias found in situations where old 

 specimens abounded was very small, and certainly bore no 

 proportion to the number generated. The cave at Arran was 

 very difficult of access, on account of its shallowness and the 

 floor being covered by a pool of water ; and the Actinias 

 were only to be reached by assuming a posture which could 

 not be maintained for more than a few minutes. A number 



