44 
CORAL GALLERY. 
On the other hand, those species that have the power of 
travelling through the air or traversing the ocean are far less 
fixed in their habitat, and thus the list of so-called " British 
Birds" receives accessions from time to time from stragglers 
which find their way from the European continent or even across 
the Atlantic. 
Slight but permanent variations from the continental type 
may be recognised in a few of our native species, some of 
the most marked among vertebrated animals being the Irish 
Stoat, the Squirrel, the Ked Grouse, the St. Kilda Wren, the 
Coal Tit, the Goldcrest, and several species of fresh-water 
fishes, mostly belonging to the genera Salmo and Coregonus. 
Some of the latter, such as the Yen dace, the Gwyniad, and 
their allies, of which specimens are exhibited in the wall-case 
in the pavilion, have an extremely local distribution, being only 
found in some small groups of mountain lakes. 
Of the Seals, only two species are really natives of Britain, 
the Common Seal {Phoca vitulina) and the Great Grey Seal 
{Halichcerus gryjpus) ; both these being shown in the pavilion. 
Coral Gallery. Parallel with the Bird gallery to the north side (right on enter- 
Gufde^price ^^o)^ approached by several passages, is a long narrow gallery 
6d.) containing the collection of Corals and of Sponges and allied forms. 
Commencing at the eastern end, some of the lowest forms of 
animal life are exhibited in the wall-case and table-cases ; they 
belong to a group called Protozoa, and, for the greater part, 
are so minute, that they can be only studied with the micros- 
cope ; their structure is therefore illustrated by means of models 
and figures. The next divisions of the gallery are occupied by the 
Sponges, most conspicuous among these being a series showing 
the variations of the common bath-sponge (cases 1 and 2), the 
beautiful flinty EwpUctdla or Venus' Flower-basket (fig. 16), 
the Japanese Hyalonema or Glass-rope Sponge (case 3), and the 
gigantic Poterion or Neptune's Cup, of which several speci- 
mens are placed on separate stands. Special interest attaches 
to the case showing the different kinds of Sponges used in 
commerce. 
Nearly the whole of the remainder of the gallery is given up 
to Corals. In life these creatures display an immense variety 
of form and colour, sometimes presenting a marvellous resem- 
