Organ-pipe Coral. This handsome zoophyte is found chiefly off Carteret, in New Ireland, and is grouped together in masses that are often many yards in diameter. It is usually found in about two or three feet of water, but is sometimes placed so high that at very low tides it is laid bare by the receding waters. The animal which forms this wonderful tubing is cylindrical, and the tentacles are pinkish, not possessing the brilliant red of the tubes, and in its native state the animals envelop so completely the upper part of the general mass that the bright red head is not perceptible. The coral masses are very fragile, and will not bear the pressure of the human foot, crumbling beneath the tread as if they were made of sugar. The tubes are beautifully cylindrical, and do not adhere to each other, being kept asunder by partitions, which precisely resemble the boards through which the pipes of an organ are passed.

Passing from these minute creatures, we can not forbear giving one or two additional illus

intervals there arise the lovely flowerets of the Coral, the bodies being bright rose-color, and their arms pure white. These arms or tentacles are in ceaseless motion, and the aspect of a large and healthy branch of coral is imposingly beautiful. The animal has the power of depositing certain minute calcareous particles, commonly called spicules, which are always of remarkable forms, and are different in the various species of coral. In the common red coral they are nearly cylindrical, and armed with projecting knobs covered with angular spikes. These spicules are then bound together by a red cement, and thus the coral is formed, the fluted branches being deposited under the longitudinal vessels, and the raised projections under the flowerets of the polype. To see the coral in full vigor it is necessary to visit the spots where it grows, as it dies almost immediately after being taken out of the water, and even if transferred with great care to a vessel is sure to die in a very short time. Several of the more curious species of Corals and Madre-trations of curious homes among the Mammapores are to be seen in illustration on page 282, which represents a portion of sea-bed beset with these beautiful zoophytes. To a few of these only we can allude in this article. Toward the centre of the illustration, and on the right-hand side, may be seen a remarkable treelike object, covered with long, tendril-like appendages, each tipped with a radiating beard. This zoophyte is known by the title of Xenia elongata, and on account of its singular form is a very conspicuous species. Examples of this genus are spread over many of the hotter parts of the world, some being found in the Red Sea, and all notable for the remarkable form of the animal and its submarine home. The present species has been chosen more for the singularity of its form than the beauty of its colors, which can not be expressed in the simple black and white of a wood-cut. Some species of this genus have the star-like tentacles colored with blue of various shades, some with rose, and some with lilac; and as in many cases the ex-like teeth cutting a bold groove completely panded tentacles are an inch in diameter, the effect of a large mass of these animals in full health is very fine. In the left-hand lower corner of the illustration is a curious globular object, covered with circular and radiated marks, and having a number of flower-headed projections upon the top. This is the Green Astræa, one of the finest examples of a singular and beautiful group of zoophytes. The color of this species is simple and pleasing. The body of the animal is pale gray-blue, and the tentacles are bright green, so that when a number of the animals are simultaneously protruding themselves the general effect is very striking. These zoophytes are able to retract themselves almost wholly within their houses, so that nothing is visible except that round the mouth there is a small green circle, which is formed by the projecting tips of the tentacles. In the left centre of the illustration is seen a group of that most beautiful zoophyte which is known as the Red

lia. The Beavers afford an excellent example of animals, not only social by dwelling near each other, but by joining in a work which is for the benefit of the community. Water is as needful for the Beaver as for the miller, and it is a very curious fact that long before millers ever invented dams, or before men ever learned to grind corn, the Beaver knew how to make a dam and insure itself a constant supply of water. That the Beaver does make a dam is a fact that has long been familiar, but how it sets to work is not so well known. Engravings representing the Beavers and their habitations are common enough, but they are generally untrustworthy, not having been drawn from the natural object but from the imagination of the artist. In order to comprehend the mode of its structure we must watch the Beaver at work. When the animal has fixed upon a tree which it believes to be suitable for its purpose it begins by sitting upright, and with its chisel

round the trunk. It then widens the groove, and always makes it wide in exact proportion to its depth, so that when the tree is nearly cut through it looks something like the contracted portion of an hour-glass. When this stage has been reached the Beaver looks anxiously at the trec, and views it on every side, as if desirous of measuring the direction in which it is to fall. Having settled this question it goes to the opposite side of the tree, and with two or three powerful bites cuts away the wood, so that the tree becomes overbalanced and falls to the ground. This point having been reached, the animal proceeds to cut up the fallen trunk into lengths, usually a yard or so in length, employing a similar method of severing the wood. In consequence of this mode of gnawing the timber both ends of the logs are rounded and rather pointed, as may be seen by reference to the illustration. The dam is by no means placed at random in the stream, just where a

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as the frozen surface is technically named, is quite strong enough to bear the weight of comparatively small animals, such as wolves, especially when they run swiftly over it; but it yields to the enormous weight of the Elk, which plunges to its belly at every step. The wolves have now the Elk at an advantage. They can overtake it without the least difficulty; and if they can bring it to bay in the snow its fate is sealed. They care little for the branching horns, but leap boldly at the throat of the ham

few logs may have happened to lodge, but is set exactly where it is wanted, and is made so as to suit the force of the current. In those places where the stream runs slowly the dam is carried straight across the river, but in those where the water has much power the barrier is made in a convex shape, so as to resist the force of the rushing water. The power of the stream can, therefore, always be inferred from the shape of the dam which the Beavers have built across it. Some of these structures are of very great size, measuring two or three hun-pered animal, whose terrible fore-feet are now dred yards in length, and ten or twelve fect in thickness, and their form exactly corresponds with the force of the stream. The Beaver makes its houses close to the water, and communicates with it by means of subterranean passages, one entrance of which passes into the house or lodge," as it is technically named, and the other into the water, so far below the surface that it can not be closed by ice. It is, therefore, always possible for the Beaver to gain access to the provision stores, and to return to its house, without being seen from the land. The lodges are nearly circular in form, and much resemble the well known snowhouses of the Esquimaux, being domed, and about half as high as they are wide, the average height being three feet and the diameter six or seven feet. These are the interior dimensions, the exterior measurement being much greater, on account of the great thickness of the walls, which are continually strengthened with mud and branches, so that during the severe frosts they are nearly as hard as solid stone. Each lodge will accommodate several individuals, whose beds are arranged around the walls. Generally, the Beavers desert their huts in the summer time, although one or two of the houses may be occupied by a mother and her young offspring. All the old Beavers who have no domestic ties to chain them at home take to the water, and swim up and down the stream at liberty, until the month of August, when they return to their homes.

The Elk, or Moose, inhabits the northern parts of America and Europe, and is, consequently, an animal which is formed to endure severe cold. Although a very large and powerful animal, measuring sometimes seven feet in height at the shoulders-a height which is very little less than that of an average elephant-it has many foes, and is much persecuted both by man and beast. In summer time it is tolerably safe, but in the winter it is beset by many perils. During the sharp frosts, also, the Elk runs but little risk, because it can traverse the hard, frozen surface of the snow with considerable speed, although with a strange, awkward gait. But when the milder weather begins to set in it is in constant danger. The warm sun falling on the snow produces a rather curious effect. The frozen surface only partially melts, and the water, mixing with the snow beneath, causes it to sink away from the icy surface, leaving a considerable space between them. The "crust,"

powerless, and, by dint of numbers, soon worry it to death. Man, too, takes advantage of this state of the snow, equips himself with snowshoes, and skims over the slight and brittle crust with perfect security. An Elk, therefore, whenever abroad in the snow, is liable to many dangers, and, in order to avoid them, it makes the curious temporary habitation called the Elk yard, and which is represented in the illustration. This winter home is very simple in construction, consisting of a large space of ground on which the snow is trampled down by continually treading it so as to form both a hard surface on which the animal can walk, and a kind of fortress in which it can dwell securely. The whole of the space is not trodden down to one uniform level, but consists of a net-work of roads or passages through which the animal can pass at ease. So confident is the Elk in the security of the "yard" that it can scarcely ever be induced to leave its snowy fortification and pass into the open ground. This habit renders it quite secure from the attacks of wolves, which prowl about the outside of the yard, but dare not venture within; but, unfortunately for the Elk, the very means which preserve it from one danger only lead it into another. If the hunter can come upon one of these Elk-yards he is sure of his quarry; for the animal will seldom, leave the precincts of the snowy inclosure, and the rifle-ball soon lays low the helpless victims.

The Elk is not the only animal that makes these curious fortifications, for a herd of Wapiti deer will frequently unite in forming a common home. One of these "yards" has been known to measure between four and five miles in diameter, and to be a perfect net-work of paths sunk in the snow. So deep, indeed, is the snow when untrodden, that when the deer traverse the paths, their backs can not be seen above the level of the white surface which conceals the yard.

We have now, in a series of articles, given accounts of a few of the Homes constructed by different classes of the animal creation. The illustrations and a considerable portion of the descriptions have been derived from the "Homes without Hands" of the Rev. J. G. Wood. have by no means exhausted the material contained in that admirable volume, which we earnestly commend to the attention of those who wish to know more of this interesting subject.

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