


























252 OUR SEA-ANEMONES, 
through the cool sea-weeds that hang from the rocky roof — 
dripping with salt dew. In such favorite retreats the Fringed — 
Sea-anemones * (Plate 6, figs. 4, 5) make their home and i 
rear their numerous families, year after year, until every — 
nook and crevice is fully occupied, and even the entire floor — 
is completely carpeted by their soft, delicate tufts of ten- 
tacles. In such localities it is common to see specimens of 
every variety of hue, from pure white, pink, salmon, chest- 
nut, orange, yellow, and light-brown, to dark-umber; while : 
others will be mottled or variously striped with two or morè . 
colors. These colors, however, are those of the outer wall 4 
of the body. But the upper part of the body and the innu- A 
merable tentacles have lighter and more delicate tints, and 4 
this, combined with their translucent texture, gives to the 
summit of the body and its broad crown of fine tentacles a i 
peculiarly graceful appearance, which is much increased by 4 
the numerous deep frills into which the tentacle-crowned d 
margin of the disk is always thrown in the large specimens. 
The tentacles are also frequently banded with white. ae : 
always difficult to decide which specimen in one of et 
numerous colonies is most beautiful when all are so attrac 4 
tive. But the pure white ones most frequently suffer = : 
their beauty, and are borne away in triumph to new homes a 
which, perchance, prove in the end less happy and pleasant a 
to them than the home of their youth. on ail . 
The Fringed Sea-anemone is not found exclusively im! ao 
places as described, but may be found on almost any pe ; 
or ledgy shore along the coast of New England, and eee 
from New York to Labrador, snugly ensconced in mee 
ices between boulders, or on their under surfaces, wine 
there is sufficient space to expand their tentacles, p i 
plete shade from the sun’s heat. For although these ” 




iption, see “A 
Metridium marginatum Edw. and H. For a more complete deserit vert i 
Revision of the Polyps of the Eastern Coast of the United States,” by fr „and 
Memoirs of the Boston Society of Natural History, Vol. I. For other ; j 
ures, see “ Sea-side Studies in Natural History,” by E. C. and A. Ag 
ney’s Zoölogy. 

