OCEAN GAKBENS; 



a miniature purple Pine, though it is capable of 

 motion through the water from place to place, by 

 some action of its organs which has not been accu- 

 rately detected. It is one of the handsomest of our 

 British Zoophytes. The polypidom, or trunk, is 

 three or four inches long, fleshy, and of a purplish 

 red. It is naked at the lower end, and feathered 

 aboye with long, closely-set pinnae, along the mar- 

 gins of which the polyp-cells are placed. The 

 pinnae are curved backward, and capable of either 

 separate or united motion. They are supposed by 

 some to be capable of the action of regular oars ; 

 but this is very doubtful, though their bearing on 

 the polypidom, which is strengthened by an internal 

 column of calcareous or bony matter, would give 

 them considerable power for that purpose. The 

 creature's specific name, phosphorea^ must not lead 

 to the supposition that it always emits a phospho- 

 rescent light, for it is only when irritated that this is 

 produced. If plunged into fresh-water, it scatters 

 a shower of phosphoric sparks in all directions, 

 which forms a magnificent and curious spectacle, 

 far more brilliant, no doubt, than the fabled hues 

 of the dying dolphin. 



The Virgularia mirahilis is another of this class 

 of creatures, almost as elegant as the Sea-Pen, but 



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