Half-hours at the sea-side; or, Recreations with marine objects
John Ellor Taylor
Paperback
(RareBooksClub.com, May 14, 2012)
This historic book may have numerous typos and missing text. Purchasers can download a free scanned copy of the original book (without typos) from the publisher. Not indexed. Not illustrated. 1907 Excerpt: ...barrel. Indeed, the simile of a watch-spring will nearly express the object, for the thread is so strong, in spite of its tensity, that it has been aptly compared to the main-spring of a watch. When the tentacles are irritated or compressed, myriads of these capsules start forward, become everted, and shoot forth their tiny spears. The length and shape of these wonderful filaments are very various, some being of a very great length, and so fine that a microscope of high power can hardly distinguish them; while others are only two or three times the length of the capsule that contained them, and covered with an armature of short hairs even more minute than themselves." There is, therefore, no wonder that these apparently helpless creatures should be able to feed on animals much higher in the scale than themselves, possessed, also, with powers of rapid locomotion and quickness of sight, neither of which distinguishes our seaanemone. Strong crabs, in spite of their powerful limbs and pincers, have had to yield the ghost when they have got in the grip of these "animal flowers." Nay, it would even seem as though, in some cases, the principle of mimicry had had something to do with their bright colours and flower-like appearance. Thus Mr. Jonathan Couch mentions that "on one occasion, while watching a specimen that was covered merely by a film of water, a bee, wandering near, darted through the water to the mouth of the animal, evidently mistaking the creature for a flower; and, though it struggled a great deal to get free, was retained till it was drowned, and was then swallowed." We now purpose dwelling briefly upon such species as the seaside visitor, under favourable circumstances, and at the proper places, may expect to find. The plu...