156 



SCIENCE-GOSSIP. 



[July 1, 1865. 



supporting the animal. Sometimes, liowever, the 

 base appears to be injured when in reality it is not, 

 the wounded appearance being caused by the copious 

 extrusion of the acontia or stinging-threads. This 

 species does very well in captivity, where it breeds 

 freely. Specimens may frequently be observed 

 when dragging the base along the glass to leave a 

 small fragment behind : in a few days this will take 

 tlie form of a perfect little Diantlms, I may mention 

 that I had in one of my tanks one of this species of 

 a brownish salmon-colour, with two mouths on the 

 one disc, the lobes of the mouths being bright 



■-MB^ 



The Daisy Anemoj^^e {Sagartia hellls) belongs 

 to a genus of Sea Anemones wliich was named Sa 

 gurtia by Mr. Gosse, in allusion to their peculiar 

 mode of disablmg their prey, by means of missUe 

 cords. Herodotus, the Greek historian, informs us 

 that in the army of Xerxes there was a certain race 

 called Sagartians. Tlie mode of fighting practised 

 by these men was this : — When they engaged an 

 enemy, they threw out a rope with a noose at the 

 end. Whatever any one caught, whether horse or 

 man, he dragged towards himself; and those that 

 were entangled in the coils were speedily put to 

 death. The Sagartian of whose history I am bear- 

 ing record is abundant in the localities in which it 

 occurs. The rocky shores of Devon and Cornwall 

 are its true metropolis ; " and here the tide-pools, fis- 

 sures, and honeycomb-like burrows are densely 

 crowded with the pretty Daisy." To the list of 

 localities furnished by Mr. Gosse I may add Spanish 

 Point and the north side of Liscannon Bay. In 

 the former place it occurs rather sparingly at low 

 water, in a spot where the rock is covered by a 

 coating of sandy mud, full of corallines and small 

 sea-weeds. The disc and tentacles appear on a level 

 with the surface of this sandy covering; but to re- 

 move the "Daisy" is no easy matter, for its base 

 will be fomid to occupy a cavity in the rock below 



the sand, into which it retracts the whole body 

 when touched. The removal, however, can generally 

 be effected by a dexterous application of hammer 

 and chisel, and in some cases specimens can be taken 

 off by the thumb nail. They thrive well in a tank, 

 and form a pleasing contrast with other species. A 

 curious habit is possessed by this species, in common 

 with some of its congeners, of elongating one of its 

 tentacles to a great length while the others remain 

 of the ordinary dimensions. 



The llosY Anemone {Sagartia rosea) is a lovely 

 little species, says Mr. Gosse ; " when left by the 

 receding tide, it protrudes from its tiny cavity in 

 the overhanging rock, and droops a pear-shaped 

 button of orange-brown, with a cluster of brilliant 

 purple tentacles just sliowiug their tips from the 

 half-opened centre, and a drop of water sparkling 

 like a dewdrop hanging from them. Then it is 

 beautiful." And I am disposed to endorse his 

 opinion, having met with it occasionally in the small 

 shady pools about Spanish Point, near the limit of 

 low water ; but it is by no means of common occur- 

 rence. The individuals I observed were of a dull 

 orange-colour, with bright rose-coloured tentacles. 

 They frequented holes in the rock, so as to render 

 their capture rather diflicult. 



Tjie Ouange-disked Anemone (Sagartia ve- 

 nnsta) is found at vai'ious places on the south and 

 west coasts of Great Britain and Ireland, and is 

 remarkable for its bright orange disc and snow- 

 white tentacles. It occurs in large colonies at the 

 very edge of low-water mark at Spanish Point, and 

 at Gall and Green Islands. In collecting them, the 

 hammer and chisel must be brought into use, as 



they are also frequenters of holes. In attempting 

 once to detach, or rather scoop out a venusta with 

 my thumb nail, I tore the base in two, and on ex- 

 amining it with my pocket lens, remarked numerous 

 young ones amongst the acontia. I brought home 

 the damaged parent with her untimely offspring, 

 and placed them in the tank, where they soon made 

 themselves quite at home, the adult taking pos- 

 session of a hollow in a stone and the young ones 

 appearing as little dull orange dots on the side of 

 the glass. 

 The Cave Anemone {Sagartia trogloilgfes) is one 



