184 
THE OCEAN WOULD. 
surprises. Coiled up against, the transparent crystal walls of the basin, 
he observes living creatures of the most brilliant shades of colour, 
and more resembling flowers than animals. Supported by a solid 
base and cylindrical stem, he sees them terminate like the corolla of a 
flower, as in tho petals of the anemone : these are the animals we call 
Sea Anemones — curious zoophytes, which, as all persons familiar with 
the sea shore may have observed, are now seen suspended from the 
rocks, and presently buried at the bottom of the sea, or floating on 
its surface. These charming and timid creatures are also called 
Actinia , as indicating their disposition to form rays or stars, from the 
Greek ciktXv, a ray. 
The body ot these animals is cylindrical in form, terminating be- 
neath in a muscular disk, which is generally large and distinct, en- 
abling them to cling vigorously to foreign bodies. It terminates above 
in an upper disk, bearing many rows of tentacles, which differ from 
each other only in their size. These tentacles are sometimes deco- 
rated with brilliant colours, forming a species of collarette, consisting of 
contractile and often retractile tubes, pierced at their points with an 
orifice, whence issue jets of water, which is ejected at the will of the 
animal. Arranged in multiples of circles, they distribute themselves 
with perfect regularity round the mouth. These are the arms of this 
species of zoophyte. 
The mouth of the Actinia opens among the tentacles. Oval in 
form, it communicates by means of a tube with a stomach, broad and 
short, which descends vertically, and abuts by a large opening on the 
visceral cavity, the interior of which is divided into little cells or 
chambers, lhese cells and chambers are not all of the same dimen- 
sions ; in parting from the cylindrical walls of the body, they advance, 
the one increasing, the others getting smaller, in the direction of the 
centre. Moreover, they have many kinds of cells, which dispose them- 
selves in their different relations with great regularity — their tenta- 
cula, which correspond with them, being arranged in circles radiating 
more or less from tho centre. 
The stomach ol the sea anemones fulfills a multitude of functions. 
At first, it is the digestive organ ; it is also the seat of respiration ; and 
is unceasingly moistened by the water, which it passes through, imbibes, 
and ejects. The visceral cavity absorbs the atmospheric air contained 
in the water ; for the stomach is also a lung, and through the same organ 
