208 Zoophytes, 



the part formerly occupied by the pulp. In the section of a newly 

 formed part, the space between the surfaces of the ring is of a very 

 delicate and spongy character, of equal consistence throughout, and 

 very flexible. In a similar section of older parts, the texture is firmer 

 and more solid, and the inner half of the space more compact, and of 

 a deeper colour than the external half In the lowest portions the 

 structure is very solid and unyielding, so that, in old specimens, it 

 cannot be bent without the danger of breaking. In the Sertularia 

 argentea the youngest parts are of a silvery whiteness, which in the 

 older, changes to a brown colour. This change is not produced by 

 incrustations on the external surface, or by the transudation of foreign 

 matter from without, but by an organic change in the sheath itself; 

 since it begins from the interior surface and proceeds to the exterior, 

 and has regular gradations from the newest part, where it is nearly 

 absent, to the older portions. In the pheasant's tail coralline (Plumu- 

 laria myriophyllum)^ the polypidom is profusely marked with oval 

 orifices, very similar in appearance to the stomata of flowering plants. 

 This shows a structure very different, and far superior to what would 

 be expected from a mere exudation from the pulp. In the spaces be- 

 tween the enlargement of the stem and the ingrafting of the internode, 

 the surface is striated, as if traversed by vessels : but I have never 

 detected any vascular appearance in this or any other species. It is 

 very common to observe, in many species of Sertulariadse, that the 

 lower pinnae are frequently absent, but leaving marks behind in proof 

 of their once existing. This is most remarkably the case in Thuiaria 

 thuja and Thu. articulata, but is observable in many others, as the 

 Plumularia falcata, Plu. setacea, &c. : it is, no doubt, in a great mea- 

 sure produced by the violence of the waves, but not entirely so. In 

 examining some specimens, when taken immediately from the water, 

 the central pulp of the lower pinnae and branches is frequently pale, 

 and the polypes appear inactive and pale, as if diseased. If this is 

 very much the case, a well-defined line of demarcation will be ob- 

 served at that part of the branch which is inserted into the trunk ; 

 this line appears also on the horny sheath, and the branch is slough- 

 ed off*, apparently in the same manner that trees shed their leaves. 

 After the part has fallen, the truncated siu-face becomes contracted, 

 the scar healed, and the exposed pulp shielded from contact with the 

 water : this is no doubt greatly assisted by the action of the waves, 

 though it does not seem the great cause of it : if it was caused en- 

 tirely by the motion of the sea, those species which grow near the 

 shores would be the most liable to it, from being more exposed. In 



