The natural division of the anemone has frequently been spoken of as by no means an uncommon occurrence, but, as far as our experience of captive anemones go, this mode of multiplication does not seem to take place except as the result of some mechanical force applied, or as a means by which the animal may relieve itself of a solid body that it is unable to eject. Thus, on one occasion, when a stone had slipped so that its narrow edge rested across the middle of the disc of a large _Mesembryanthemum_, the animal, apparently unable to free itself from the burden, simply withdrew its tentacles and awaited results. In a few days two individuals were to be seen, one on either side of the stone, both undoubtedly produced as the result of the pressure applied. This instance seems to be exactly akin to artificial division, for it is far more likely that the animal was severed by the simple pressure of the stone than that it divided itself to be relieved of its burden. On another occasion an anemone that had almost entirely surrounded a mussel on which it had been feeding, gradually released itself of the shell by a longitudinal division of its body; but here, again, it is probable that the fission was the result of pressure applied rather than of any power on the part of the animal. A few of the British sea anemones are shown on Plates II. and III., and although the coloured illustrations will probably suffice for purposes of identification, yet a short description of each one represented may be acceptable. The most common and most widely distributed species is undoubtedly the familiar Beadlet (_Actinia mesembryanthemum_--Plate II., figs. 1, 2, 3), which is to be found on every bit of rocky coast around the British Isles, and even on some stony beaches where there are no standing rocks between the tide-marks. The colour of this species is exceedingly variable, but the most abundant variety is of a liver-brown colour, with crimson disc and tentacles, brilliant blue spots round the margin of the disc, and a line of bright blue around the base. In others the prevailing colour is deep crimson, orange, yellowish brown, or green. Fig. 1 represents a variety commonly known as the Strawberry Beadlet (_Fragacea_), which is distinguished by its superior size, and in which the dark-red ground is often conspicuously spotted with green. Two members of the same genus are also shown on Plate III. One of these--_A. glauca_ (fig. 3)--is of a bluish-green colour; while the other--_A. chiococca_ (fig. 4)--is bright scarlet, with deep crimson disc and white spots round the disc. [Illustration: PLATE II. SEA ANEMONES 1, 2, 3, Actinia mesembryanthemum. 4. Caryophyllia Smithii. 5. Tealia crassicornis. 6. Sagartia bellis. 7. Balanophyllia regia. 8. Actinoloba dianthus.]