July 1, 1865-.] 



SCIENCE-GOSSIP. 



155 



SEA ANEMONES. 

 By F. I. EooT, M.A. 



The living flowers, rooted to the rock. — Southey. 



THE fortunate reader who is taking his annual 

 "constitutional" at the seaside desires that 

 some interesting occupation shall be afforded him, 

 and some source of amusement and instruction sug- 

 gested. Is marine zoology to his taste, and does he 

 love to sally forth with collecting-can, net, hammer, 

 and chisel, and spend a few hours of the calm sum- 

 mer's day among those brilliant natural aquaria left 

 for his inspection by the receding tide ? To such 

 an one I now address myself, and, as he will have 

 ensconced himself in comfortable quarters near the 

 scene of his researches, a no small desideratmn to 

 the shore collector, I shall at once take my place at 

 his side, to share his accom.modation and act as Ins 

 adviser and guide. 



Lovely as it is to gaze into the rockpool and watch 

 its numerous inmates, the jealous "tide, that waits for 

 no man," does not always allow the naturalist time 

 for observation, sufficient for the identification of 

 species. Eor this purpose an artificial aquarium, 

 besides being a constant source of amusement, is 

 indispensalfie ; and as spare basins, pudding-dishes, 

 &c., which after all make but sorry aquaria, are not 

 always in abundance at seaside lodgings or hotels, 

 the collector will do well to carry with him a port- 

 able apparatus which he may construct easily and 

 cheaply as follows :— 



Let him purchase at any of the glass warehouses 

 some circular cap glasses (fig. 1) of different sizes, 



face hollowed out in the form of the cap-glass, with 

 a hole to admit the knob (fig. 8). A siphon^ will be 

 found a useful adj unct, for drawing oft" the water when 

 requiring to be changed. I may here observe that if 

 it be required to carry anemones from one place to 

 another, they must be packed in a bos, in wet sea- 

 weed ; the common wrack, Fucus serratus, being the 

 best. 



Thus equipped, and with Mr. Gosse's book on 

 Sea Anemones for reference, if he desires to know 

 more than v/e are about to teU him, let him and us 

 to our work. 



Fig. 2. 



Fig. 3. 



say three in number, and 8, 7, and 6 inches in diame- 

 ter respectively. These will fit one inside the other, 

 audwhenpackedinasmallhamperareeasilyandsafely 

 carried. Blocks of wood are necessary, on which to 

 set up the glasses (figs. 2 and 3). These may be about 

 sir^ inches square, by three inches deep, the upper sur- 



First there is the Plumose Anemone (Jctinoloba 

 diantJius, of a cylindrical form, ending in a simple 

 thickened parapet, separated by a fosse from the 

 outer tentacles. The colour is variable. I have 

 usually found them at Spanish Point, county of 

 Clare, my favourite hunting-ground, of an orange 

 fawn-colour. The plaited outline of the mass of 

 tentacles, the parapet of the column, and the single 

 gonidiai groove of the mouth, are unmistakable 

 characters of this species (fig. 4), and it is generally 

 distributed along the coast. In collecting this, and, 

 indeed, most other species, care must be taken in 

 removing them from the rock, as an injury to the 

 base may cause death. The safest way is to remove, 

 if possible, with hammer and chisel, the piece of rock 



