THE NAUTILUS. 6 



forceps what seemed to be the veritable monster in all his glory of 

 sestivation, the Vagiuulus solea d'Orbigny, or more correctly 

 according to Tryon, Veronicella, One more specimen was found 

 with its egg-nest. Both specimens were curled, and the tentacles 

 were not visible, in fact, it looked like a lifeless mass of very dark 

 grayish-brown opaque glue, with lighter gray spots : about the size 

 of that warred-upon Bland dollar, Avith a notch in one side and a 

 crack extending nearly to the center. Turning it over it pi-esented 

 the well known under surface as shown in d'Orbigny's figure. Soon 

 two tentacles came forth, which stuck up in the air, and each had a 

 bright black eye visible in the exact center of its free end ; then 

 two more were observed, which projected downward and were 

 broader and stouter than the others, and appeared bifurcated ; these 

 latter were constantly in motion, apparently acting as feelers, and 

 later when the animal was moving along on a glass plate seemed 

 to act as suckers. Finally he slowly straightened out until he was 

 ten centimeters long and a little over two wide. I next took a look 

 at the nest, of which I had found several in the woods, only never 

 very large, usually containing about ten or fifteen eggs, but in this 

 one I counted seventy-five, although, much to my discouragement as 

 an amateur artist, in my sketch of it I can only account for forty- 

 five — it was about the size of a silver half dollar and hemispherical, 

 the eggs being regularly arranged around the circumference and 

 held together by a heavy mucous-like rope. The eggs were oval in 

 shape, some perfectly clear and transparent, others yellowish and 

 more or less opaque, and all were covered by the stercoraceous 

 deposit of some insect, I judged. Unfortunately, it broke to pieces 

 before I reached the ship on account of the rough handling of curi- 

 osity. One specimen of the solea was much darker in color than 

 the other, and the lighter seemed to fade before I had my water 

 color sketch finished ; subsequent finds may show considerable varia- 

 tion in coloration. I killed the first specimen in a solution of 

 bichloride of mercury, 1 to 500, and then dropped it into glycerin 

 hoping thus to preserve its colors, but it has contracted and become 

 very dark : the second I killed in the same solution, in which it still 

 remains. In dying it threw out much mucus, most rapidly and in 

 greatest quantity from the extreme end so that I suspect there may 

 be a mucous pore there ; it also seemed to come from its whole sur- 

 face enveloping it quickly in a cloud, completely hiding it, and in 

 sufiicient quantity to render the fluid as nearly opaque as milk. 



