SOME NOTES ON THE VICTORIA REGIA. 223 



soon after delighted by the safe arrival from Sheffield of a bottle 

 containing living, well-grown specimens of the familiar jelly-fish." 



The Fresh-water Medusa was first discovered in the Victoria 

 Regia tank of the Botanic Gardens, Regent's Park, London, in 

 1880, and had never been found elsewhere until last year, when it 

 was observed in numbers swimming about the Victoria Regia tank 

 in these Gardens. The question at once arose, How came it to 

 Sheffield ? Professor Lankester, in the article alluded to, says : — 



" The question as to how the jelly-fish got to Sheffield is easily 

 answered. Water plants {Nyinphceaccce and Pontederid) were sent 

 from Regent's Park to Sheffield, to re-stock the tank there, on 

 April 4th, 1892, and on April 7th, 1893. Hence there was the 

 possibility of some of whatever germs of Limnocodium existed in 

 Regent's Park being transferred to Sheffield. The curious thing is 

 that in 1892 and 1891 no Liinnocodium was seen in the original 

 source — viz., the Regent's Park tank, nor in 1893, excepting a few 

 sent from Sheffield and placed in that tank by Mr. Sowerby. 



This is the first instance recorded in which another Victoria 

 Regia has been " infected " with Limfiocodiimi from the original 

 Regent's Park tank, excepting when the new tank in Regent's Park 

 was in 1890 infected from the old one, by the transference to it of 

 weeds and roots containing the germ of the jelly-fish. 



To those unacquainted with this little creature the following 

 description may be interesting : — " The general form of the animal 

 resembles a small, shallow, nearly hemispherical bell, of the most 

 delicate structure, transparent almost as glass, the tentacles of a 

 beautiful opalescent white, and as seen floating in the water 

 resembles the ordinary jelly-fish, but from which, however, it 

 differs in many particulars ; one of the peculiar features being that 

 the tentacles are extended upwards, when the animal is floating, 

 instead of hanging from the bell, as in most other members of the 

 group. The size varies much according to age. Individuals have 

 been noticed as small as pins' heads, one-thirtieth of an inch, and 

 from this size ranges up to one-third of an inch, or of full-grown 

 adult specimens, fully expanded, to half-an-inch in diameter. 



The bell or umbrella is quite transparent. The marginal ring 

 bears three sets of tentacles. The first, a set of four large, primary 

 tentacles ; the second, a tier of twenty-eight or more, secondary 



