iO SMOOTH ANEMONE. 



extremity of the cove and amused myself with examin- 

 ing the little shallow tide-pools, one or two inches 

 deep, regularly paved with small muscles, and fringed 

 with dwarf fuci^ ulv(e, Rhodyme?iia jpabnata, and 

 coralHne, — representatives of the olive, green, red, and 

 stony sea-weeds, all gathered together, but all stunted 

 and poor, being so high above low-water line. Seve- 

 ral of a long slender many-footed sea-worm fPhyllo- 

 doce lamelligera), looking like a centipede, but of a 

 bright green colour, were lithely crawling and turning 

 among the sea-weeds and muscles, and were difficult 

 to get hold of, from their length and slipperiness. 



These shallow pools, the sides of the rocks, the 

 boulders, and the small stones left dry by the tide, are 

 all studded with the common Smooth Anemone (Act. 

 mesemhryanthemum) in great abundance. The most 

 frequent variety is of a rich deep red, sometimes 

 brightening into blood-red, but more ordinarily deep- 

 ening into a full brownish purple or liver- colour. Less 

 common is the olive variety, likewise varying in tint 

 according as the green or the brown element prepon- 

 derates. And not rarely we see specimens, usually of 

 large size and of oval outline, with the ground-colour 

 dark-red, marked with numerous and close-set green 

 dots. This species is the most careless of exposure 

 to the air of all our native zoophytes; we see them 

 adhering to the rocks almost up to high-water mark, 

 so that the periods during which these are left dry are 

 considerably longer than their immersions. Yet it is 

 only while covered with water, that they expand their 

 beautiful flower-like disks and petaloid tentacles, and 

 consequently obtain nutriment. And even when we 



