Making free use of my dip-net, I soon have the 

 half-barrel at the bow of my boat filled to over- 

 flowing with the animals. They swim around in 

 agitation, emitting violent bursts of flame, making 

 the tub glare like a cask of liquid light. Examin- 

 ing them in the rays of an electric lamp, I find that 

 the jellyfishes are of three kinds. The first to arrest 

 my attention is a large semi-transparent creature 

 of about the diameter of a dinner plate. On com- 

 ing into contact with the tentacles of this animal, 

 my skin quickly apprises me of their peculiar 

 nature, and I recoil from their caress. A sharp, 

 prickling, burning sensation galvanizes the mus- 

 cles of my forearm; but brief as is the torturous 

 touch, I retain the livid marks for hours after. This 

 jellyfish I recognize as Cyanea, the "sea-blubber." 



Then I see a number of somewhat similar though 

 smaller forms. These are Aurelias, pretty indi- 

 viduals well deserving the name of "moon-jellies." 

 They are, when viewed from the side, like flat- 

 tened hemispheres; when viewed from the top they 

 are circular and about the size of a soup-bowl. In- 

 deed, in some respects they may be likened to in- 

 verted bowls of glass, as it is with the bowl upside 

 down that they propel themselves through the 



