trepang , but usually situated so, tliat its snout was just 

 capable oi" being seeii. If touched it witbdrew ilself out 

 of sight, but never remained long so, I suppose in that 

 case not being able to respire with freedom. On Sunday 

 evening there appeared several irregular white spots on 

 the exterior of the trepang, as if caused by an excoriatiou 

 of the dark outer cuticle, these, soon became openings, leading 

 into the cavity of the animal. It seemed now to be ex- 

 hausted in its efforts to get rid of the fish and on Mon- 

 day morning I found the trepang dead. The fisli having 

 left it, was still ahve and moving restlesly about in the 

 vessel ; on Tuesday the fish died also. 



I now conic to tbe slender stock of information I possess 

 concerning the origin of this curious fish. Tlie people here 

 formerly picked up the trepang, merely for the amusement of 

 seeing the fish, as something out of the common. Froni 

 them f have learned tliat they are to be obtained , though 

 very rarely, as small as kalf an inch (and from that up to 

 six or seven inches) in length. It is only in the young 

 trepang that these small fish are to be found. The size of 

 the fish corresponds to the size of the trepang and as the 

 object of coUecting this animal is for the China-market, 

 only the full grown ones are taken, so that young ones 

 are rarely or never gathered unless requested ; hence the 

 rarity of the small fish. None of the people have even 

 seen any thing in the shape of the eggs or spawn of this 

 fish. There are altogether about fen different species and va- 

 rieties of Holothuria on these Islands, in only three of wliicli, 

 are the fish to be found , and in other than two or tinpee 

 particular spots, they are extremely rare. 



The fish that I experimented on was taken from a black 

 species and the live trepang I placed in the bucket along 

 with it, was of a red. It is just possible that the reason 

 it (lid not enter immediately, was because of the red not 

 being its own proper habitat, but it receded and waited , 

 till no other shelter offering itself, it was perforce obhged 



