It is common in our fresh waters, and parti.cularly in such where the bottom is composed of soft clay, through which it passes with the greatest facility.

Sometimes it moves in the water with a toler ably quick undulating motion, like that of a leech; and at other times, its motions are the most slow and languid imaginable. When the water in which it swims, happens to be dried up, it soon loses every appearance of life: the slender body shrivels, and it may be kept in this state for a great length of time. But whenever it is put into the water, its body soon re-assumes its former appearance; in less than half an hour it begins to move, and, in a few minutes more, it is as brisk and active as ever. The Abbé Fontana kept a Hair-worm in a drawer for three years, at the expiration of which time, it was perfectly dry and hard, and exhibited no signs of life; but, on putting it into water, it soon recovered its former vigour. When kept in a vessel of water, it will sometimes appear motionless, and as if dead, for several hours, and afterwards will resume its former vigour, and seem as healthy as before.

It is stated, that the bite of this worm has been known to produce the complaint called a whitlow. This is mentioned by Linnæus as a popular opinion in Sweden, and, since this time, the fact has been confirmed by various other persons.

The Hair-worm is sometimes found in the earth as well as in water; aud particularly in gardens of a clayey soil, after rain.

THE SEA LONG-WORM.

SUCH is the length of this very extraordinary worm, that it is almost impossible to fix any bounds to it. The fishermen of the Devonshire coast in England will say, that they are many fathoms long. Some of the most intelligent, however, assert, that they are upwards of thirty yards in length; but Colonel Montague is of opinion, that as many feet must be the utmost. None of the specimens which he saw appeared to exceed twenty feet.

The largest of these worms are taken by dredging. They are also sometimes found under the stones at low water, but always coiled up or twisted in a most complicated manner.

The expansion and contraction of the Longworms are very surprising. One which was supposed to be nearly eight feet in length, on being put alive into spirits, instantly contracted to about twelve inches, at the same time increasing to double its preceding bulk. It is very difficult to preserve them perfect without Contraction. If suffered to die in their natural

element, one part will decay and become putrid, whilst the other remains entire and capable of motion; and the addition of any thing offensive instantly produces contraction.

They are found on the coasts of Devon and Cornwall; and are also frequently dredged up by the fishermen in the Frith of Forth, Scotland. We believe they are not found in Ireland.

NATURAL HISTORY

OF

CORALS AND SPONGES.

IT is very probable that the animals we see and are acquainted with, bear no manner of proportion to those that are concealed from us. Although every leaf and vegetable swarms with animals upon land, yet at sea, they are still more abundant; for the greatest part of what would seem vegetables growing there, are in fact no thing but the artificial formation of small animals which they have built for their own habitation.

If we examine the bottom of the sea along some shores, and particularly at the mouths of several rivers, we shall find it has the appearance of a forest of trees under water, mil lions of plants growing in various directions with their branches entangled in each other, and sometimes standing so thick as to obstruct navigation. The shores of the Persian gulph, the whole extent of the Red-sea, and the western coasts of America, are so choked up in many

places with these Coraline substances, that though ships force a passage through them, boats and swimmers find it impossible to make their way. These are formed of different substances, and assume various appearances. The coralplants, as they are called, sometimes shoot out like trees, which in winter are without leaves: they often spread out a broad surface like a fan, and not uncommonly a large bundling head, like a faggot; sometimes they are found to resemble a plant with leaves and flowers; and often the antlers of a stag, with great exactness and regularity. In other parts of the sea are seen sponges of various magnitude, and extraordinary appearances, assuming a variety of fantastic forms like large mushrooms, mitres, fonts and flower-pots. To an attentive spectator, these various productions seem to have their leaves and their flowers, and have been experimentally known to shoot out branches in the compass of a year. This opinion, however, some time after, began to be shaken, by others, who by a more sagacious and diligent enquiry into nature, put it past doubt, that corals and sponges were entirely the work of animals, and that like the honey-comb, which was formed by the bee, the coral was the work of an infinite num ber of reptiles, whose united labours were thus capable of filling whole tracts of the ocean, with those embarrassing tokens of their industry.