46 



COLLECTINa ANIMALS. 



of factj the searcli for animals goes on simulta- 

 neously with the process just described ; the same 

 haunts which are affected by the marine plants 

 conceal various animals ; and it is one of the great 

 charms of collecting, that you never know what 

 you may obtain at any moment. The expectation 

 is always kept on the stretch : something new, or 

 at least unthought of, frequently strikes the eye, 

 and keeps the attention on the qui vive. 



Close examination of the fissures of the pools, of 

 the rough and corroded stones that have been fished 

 up, and even of the sea-plants themselves, reveals 

 many curious creatures of various kinds and forms, 

 each of which, when found, is seized and consigned 

 to one or other of the jars. The plants often bear 

 the more delicate Zoophytes, as Coryne, Sertularia^ 

 Campanularia^ &c. growing parasitically upon 

 them ; and some interesting Sponges, as Grantia 

 compressa and G, ciUata, But more generally the 

 Sponges are found incrusting the surface of the 

 rocks in the darkest places, especially on the sides 

 of caverns, intermixed with many species of the 

 Polyzoa. 



The Sea-anemones {Actinia^ &c.) adhere to 

 rocks ; the common Smooth species [A. mesemhry- 

 antJiemum) often high up, exposed to the air ; but 

 the rarer kinds generally in the sheltered crannies 

 and basins, in gravelly fissures, or on the under 

 surface of stones. They must be carefully dis- 

 lodged by inserting the finger-nail beneath the 

 base, and gradually shoving them off; but those 

 sorts that live in holes must be chiselled out. 



Many of the Star-fishes, Sea-urchins, and Sea- 

 cucumbers are to be procured by turning over loose 

 stones at the lowest tide-level ; various species of 



