Page:Hardwicke's Science-Gossip - Volume 1.pdf/172
supporting the animal. Sometimes, however, the base appears to be injured when in reality it is not, the wounded appearance being cause by the copious extrusion of the acontia or stinging-threads. This species does very well in captivity, where it breeds freely. Specimens may frequently be observed when dragging the base along the glass to leave a small fragment behind: in a few days this will take the form of a perfect little Dianthus. I may mention that I had in one of my tanks one of this species of a brownish salmon-colour, with two mouths on the one disc, the lobes of the mouths being bright orange.
The Daisy Anemone (Sagartia bellis) belongs to a genus of Sea Anemones which was named Sagartia by Mr. Gosse, in allusions to their peculiar mode of disabling their prey, by means of missile coords. Herodotus, the Greek historian, informs us that in the army of Xerxes there was a certain race called Sagartians. The mode of fighting practised by these men was this:—When they engaged an enemy, they threw out a rope with a noose at the end. Whatever any one caught, whether horse or man, he dragged towards himself; and those that were entangled in the coils were speedily put to death. The Sagartian of whose history I am bearing record is abundant in the localities in which it occurs. The rocky shores of Devon and Cornwall are its true metropolis; "and here the tide-pools, fissures, and honeycomb-like burrows are densely crowded with the pretty Daisy." To the list of localities furnished by Mr. Gosse I may add Spanish Point and the north side of Liscannon Bay. In the former place it occurs rather sparingly at low water, in a spot where the rock is covered at low water, in a spot where the rock is covered by a coating of sandy mud, full of corallines and small sea-weeds. The disc and tentacles appear on a level with the surface of this sandy covering; but to remove the "Daisy" is no easy matter, for its base will be found to occupy a cavity in the rock below the sand, into which it retracts the whole body when touched. The removal, however, can generally be effected by a dexterous application of hammer and chisel, and in some cases specimens can be taken off by the thumb nail. They thrive well in a tank, and form a pleasing contrast with other species. A curious habit is possessed by this species, in common with some of its congeners, of elongating one of its tentacles to a great length while the others remain of the ordinary dimensions.
The Rosy Anemone (Sagartia rosea) is a lovely little species, says Mr. Gosse; "when left by the receding tide, it protrudes from its tiny cavity in the overhanging rock, and droops a pear-shaped button of orange-brown, with a cluster of brilliant purple tentacles just showing their tips from the half-opened centre, and a drop of water sparkling like a dewdrop hanging from them. Then it is beautiful." And I am disposed to endorse his opinion, having met with it occasionally in the small shady pools about Spanish Point, near the limit of low water; but it is by no means of common occurrence. The individuals I observed were of a dull orange-colour, with bright rose-coloured tentacles. They frequented holes in the rock, so as to render their capture rather difficult.
The Orange-disked Anemone (Sagartia venusta) is found at various places on the south and west coasts of Great Britain and Ireland, and is remarkable for its bright orange disc and snow-white tentacles. It occurs in large colonies at the very edge of low-water mark at Spanish Point, and at Gall and Green Islands. In collecting them, the hammer and chisel must be brought into use, as
they are also frequencies of holes. In attempting once to detach, or rather scoop out a venusta with my thumb nail, I tore the base in two, and on examining it with my pocket lens, remarked numerous young ones amongst the acontia. I brought home the damaged parent with her untimely offspring, and placed them in the tank, where they soon made themselves quite at home, the adult taking possession of a hollow in a stone and the young ones appearing as little dull orange dots on the side of the glass.
The Cave Anemone (Sagarita troglodytes) is one