ber of this word, scyphistoma, in this instance is 

 useful and to the point, though it may be doubt- 

 fully descriptive in other instances where it has 

 been applied by the systematists. It is, in short, a 

 way which science has of saying that the creature 

 in general and its mouth-parts in particular are 

 "cup-like." The countless free-born billions of 

 their brethren who have now found a foothold on 

 the floor of the sea are passing a dormant exist- 

 ence. In the gloom and cold prevailing within 

 the depths during this period, there is a scarcity of 

 food; consequently there is a general lethargy and 

 little growth. But in the more genial temperature 

 of my laboratory where there is no dearth of daily 

 victuals, the case is otherwise. The Scy phis tomes 

 are now increased and have attained to a height of 

 more than a quarter of an inch. They are, of course, 

 clearly visible; to study their movements and their 

 major details requires merely the aid of a simple 

 magnifier. The tentacles seem to have shrunk to 

 insignificant proportions; yet the outstanding fea- 

 ture of the animals is the appearance of a dozen or 

 more constrictions which encircle their bodies along 

 the greater part of their length. In every case the 

 topmost constriction is so deep that it would seem 



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