THE HOLOTHURIDE. 169 
was left of the creature was not dead ; for its empty sac contracted 
at the least touch, and showed by its contortions that its irritability 
had in no way decreased. But what is more extraordinary, the 
creature, which seemed so utterly emptied of all its organs, began 
to reproduce them, and at the end of two or three months, all 
were replaced, and the holothuria seemed to be enjoying life as if 
it had never suffered so terrible a shock. 
Not less worthy of notice is the singular power these remarkable 
animals possess of spontaneous subdivision. The commencement of 
this phase in their existence is marked by their becoming motionless 
and stationary. Each extremity begins gradually to enlarge, while 
the middle contracts; this contraction goes on until the central 
portion of the animal is reduced to a mere thread, which finally 
snaps, and then there are produced two perfect and complete sea 
cucumbers, which grow larger, and, in due time, each becomes a 
fac-simile of its former undivided self. 
Notwithstanding the great revulsion which the very presence 
of these creatures causes to some people, they are esteemed by 
the Chinese as a delicacy, and the “¢repang” fishing occupies 
yearly thousands of junks ; while the preparation of this zoophyte, 
and its transport to market, engages the industry of a numerous 
population. To catch the trepang—whose scientific name is //o/o- 
thuria edulis—a great deal of patience and much expertness is 
required. The Malays are the chief fishermen. Lying down in the 
fore part of the junk, the fisherman scans the bottom of the ocean 
beneath him. Aided by the clear blue sky of his country, he can 
see his prey at a great depth, often even thirty yards distant. 
In his hand he carries a long bamboo, armed at its head with a 
kind of harpoon. Seeing the creature crawling over the sands or 
the rocks beneath him, he poises his harpoon; the unerring dart 
speeds through the water, and seldom or never misses. When 
the depth is not more than four or five fathoms, divers descend, 
and taking the trepangs in their hands, bring up often five or six 
at once. 
To prepare them for the Chinese markets the creatures are 
boiled, and flattened with stones ; they are then spread out on 
bamboo platforms, and either dried in the sun or smoked. Thus 
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