THE CAPSULES. 99 



see the seminal filaments copiously lying, coiled up 

 in contorted masses. 



The species is well-named; for its long intertwining 

 slender tentacles give the animal somewhat of a 

 snaky-haired aspect, a sort of Medusa's head appear- 

 ance ; — at least as far as such a symbol can agree 

 with beauty, for delicately beautiful our Actinia cer- 

 tainly is. It seems to expand more readily than 

 many species, almost always being in full blossom 

 when covered with water, and if alarmed to closing, 

 soon recovering its placid confidence, and opening 

 again. The transparency of its tentacles can scarcely 

 be represented by painting, at least not without 

 greatly enlarging the scale. 



I took a specimen at Watermouth, near Ilfracombe, 

 in May ; in similar circumstances to the former ones. 



Young specimens have the colours much paler and 

 more pellucid ; the delicate buff of the longitudinal 

 bands being almost white. 



Filiferous capsules are abundant in the walls of 

 the tentacles : they are linear, slightly curved, and 

 minute, being about i^gth inch in length. I could 

 not see the discharged thread with a power of 300 

 diameters. 



