1G A Visit to Llandudno. 



the number of their tentacles. P. Belgica has twelve tentacles, 

 gracilis and echinata about twenty. Some of my specimens of 

 P. echinata had eighteen. 



In Mr. Gosse's Devonshire Coast he mentions an instance of 

 a colony of P. Belgica growing as parasites upon the tail of a 

 Syrinx, a wandering animal of vermicular shape belonging to 

 the Echinodermata, and, as might have been supposed, an unfit 

 site on which to found a colony of Polyzoa. 



Many other objects of interest rewarded a little pains taken 

 at Llandudno, but I will only allude to one of them, the Pero- 

 phora, just for the sake of mentioning a rapid change in trans- 

 parency which a short period produced in this interesting 

 mollusk, without its showing any other symptom of bad health. 

 One afternoon Mr. Drabble brought in a group of Perophora to 

 show the beautiful ciliary action of its internal gills, which he 

 had been admiring under his own microscope shortly before. 

 On trying it with mine our success was very moderate, and no 

 mode of illumination would make it sufficiently clear. For 

 experiment sake he fetched his own instrument, but the result 

 was the same, the explanation being that the outer skin of the 

 animal had contracted, or undergone some other change, aud 

 its translucency was impaired. 



Some of my readers may find themselves at Llandudno, 

 and the preceding remarks may help them to collect objects ; 

 but most that I have said will apply to other sea-side 

 places, and none can be found in which nothing of interest 

 for the microscopic naturalist exists. My Welsh trip left many 

 pleasing recollections, but there is a peculiar charm in marine 

 zoology, and while the outlines of hills and mountains often rise 

 in my view, I see with equal clearness of remembrance the 

 motions of the Pedicellince, or the brilliant lightning sparks 

 emitted by irritated colonies of Sertulana newly dredged from 

 their homes at the bottom of the bay. 



