66 DUBLIN NATTJHAL HI8T0ET SOCIETY. 



At Bally vaughan large patches of sand covered with the Zoster a ma- 

 rina are left bare at low- water spring-tides ; on these Anthea cereus oc- 

 curs in such numbers that it might be taken away in cart-loads. It is 

 a very hardy species, and does well in an aquarium, some of the brighter 

 coloured individuals forming a most pleasing object. If the water in 

 the tank, however, is allowed to become foul from the presence of dead 

 animals or other causes, the tentacles of the antheas are very liable to 

 assume a withered, shrivelled appearance ; but cleansing the tank, and a 

 • supply of fresh sea- water, soon restore their vigorous condition and bril- 

 liant hues. 



Gosse comments at some length on the destructive powers of anthea 

 with respect to other animals. I find from experience that in small 

 tanks it is not easy to keep small fish such as gobies, blennies, pipe-fish, 

 or eels, in company with anemones more than a day or two. Eolis and 

 doris are not injured by their society, but, on the contrary, are said to 

 attack and feed on the anemones. 



I find that several of the moUusca, such as Trochus%i%ipMnus, Patella 

 ccerulea, CyprcBa Europea, Nassa reticulata, soon die when placed in com- 

 pany with them; and, as far as I could observe, the proximity oi Anthea 

 cereus did not appear to be more injurious than many of the others. 



Actinia mesemlryanthemum. — The Beadlet. This well-known species 

 is, as elsewhere, very plentiful on the Clare coast, abounding most in the 

 littoral zone, in all suitable situations. 



Dr. E. P. Wright observes, " IS'at. Hist. Rev.," page 121, April, 1859, 

 " The dirty estuaries of some of our large rivers, as the Liffey, seem to 

 exterminate mesembryanthemum from their immediate vicinity." Cer- 

 tainly I was quite surprised at its rarity on the muddy shores of Gall 

 Island and Green Island, and of the mainland JN". E. of Ballyvaughan : 

 westward, where there are rock-pools and clean sandy bottom, it ap- 

 pears to be as plentiful as usual. 



At Lahinch the beautiful variety, fragacea, the strawberry, which 

 is almost entitled to the rank of a separate species, occurs abundantly 

 between high and low water. It generally occurs nearer to low- water 

 than the common form, and is much more easily detached from the rock, 

 and is decidedly softer to the touch, so much so, indeed, that I could 

 at once recognise it by the feel, when the animal was concealed from 

 view beneath some overhanging ledge or by the dusk of evening. The 

 strawbeny is the most easily kept of all anemones, and is a great orna- 

 ment in the aquarium, creeping about the sides of the vessel, and ex- 

 panding its base into an irregularly elliptical form. I have one at this 

 moment, with its base expanded to a length of five inches, and a breadth 

 of two and a half. In this individual the marginal spherules (one of the 

 characters of the family) are pinkish- white. The y&vieij tigrinis (column 

 red, longitudinally streaked with yellow or apple-green), and opora (leek- 

 green, with longitudinal streaks of yellow), are also very abundant at 

 Lahinch. The white variety mentioned by Dr. Wright, with slight blue 

 tinge, and azure base and tentacles, is by no means uncommon at Mil- 

 town-Malbay. 



