ay matters.

"I say, Gregson, this is a regular-built _egg_; isn't it?" said Bouldon,
as soon as he could be found. He was discovered up to his knees in a
pool among the rocks, with a hammer and chisel in hand, working
perseveringly under water.

"No; you first make a statement totally at variance with the truth, and
then ask a question," answered the young naturalist, looking up from his
occupation, but apparently not well pleased at being interrupted. "That
is the _Echinus esculentus_, or sea-urchin. Just let me finish knocking
off this magnificent anemone, and I'll tell you all about it."

"Anemone! Oh, I know--one of those curious coloured sea-weedy things
I've seen girls collect at watering-places," observed Bouldon, whose
knowledge of natural history was not very extensive. "I'd save you all
that trouble; let me cut it off with my knife."

"Not for the world; you'd kill it, to a certainty," exclaimed Gregson.
"See, I have knocked off a piece of the rock to which it is sticking,
and I may now put it into my jar. Now I could cut off any portion of
it, and the part cut off will turn into a new anemone, but if I were to
injure the base the animal would quickly die. They belong to the class
scientifically called _Anthozoa_ or living flowers, because from their
external appearance they seem to partake of the vegetable nature. Just
look into that part of the pool which I have left undisturbed. See,
there are two of them feeding. Look how they stretch out their long
tentacles to catch hold of their food. Ah! that one has got hold of a
tiny shrimp, and is tucking it into his hungry maw, which is just in the
middle of its flower-like body. Is he not a handsome fellow? What
beautiful colours he presents! Ah! I thought that I should see
something else in the pool that you would think curious. Look down
close. There are three or more little globular bodies floating about
like balloons. The animal is the berve. It has ciliated bands round
it, like the marks on a melon. What a beautiful iridescent light plays
over them! They enable it to move over the water, while with its long
tentacles it fishes for its food. At night those cilia shine with a
phosphorescent light, and have a very beautiful appearance. Stop! oh,
don't go away without looking more particularly at this submarine
forest. The woods of America in autumn do not present more gorgeous
colours. That beautiful pink weed is the _Delesseria sang