They have been separated into two orders; namely, Cirrhipeda pedunculata, which are attached to any object by a tube of a leathery nature, as, for instance, the Barnacle,—and Cirrhipeda sedentaria, which are fixed directly to the rock, like the Acorn-shell.
ORDER CIRRHIPEDA PEDUNCULATA.
(Cirrhipeda with a Footstalk.)
The Smooth Barnacle, ([Anatifa lævis].)
The curious popular error, that the Barnacle contained the young of a species of goose, which was thence called the Barnacle Goose, has lasted for many ages, and still prevails among the uneducated, on the shores of many of the European seas. One reason of the continuance of this error in several Roman Catholic countries, is the permission granted by the priest to its members, to eat this goose on fish-days, because it is considered, on account of its supposed watery origin, to partake more of the character of a fish than a fowl. To show the extent to which an erroneous belief may be carried, we may quote the following notice sent by Sir Robert Moray to the Royal Society, and printed by them in their Transactions. He says, “The pedicle seems to draw and convey the matter which serves for the growth and vegetation of the shell and the little bird within it.” “In every shell that I opened, I found a perfect sea-fowl; the little bill like that of a goose, the eyes marked; the head, neck, breast, wings, tail, and feet formed; the feathers everywhere perfectly shaped, and blackish-coloured; and the feet like those of other water-fowl, to my best remembrance!” “Nor did I ever see any of the little birds alive, nor met with anybody that did; only some credible persons have assured me that they have seen some as big as their fist!!”
Anatifa lævis.