96 NATURAL HISTORY. 



abound in the deep mud of some of the creeps. Others (with better 

 taste) bury themselves in sea-sand. But none that I have got here 

 were remarkable for beauty of colour. I might except one crimson 

 mud anemone ; but its shape and surroundings are so ugly that it 

 is very far from being a lovely object. 



In the mud, besides these, we find a rather curious object, look- 

 ing like an earthworm with a backbone. This on extraction turns 

 out to be a long calcareous rod, of the shape of a buggy whip, 

 usually with the point turned or curled over. The creature some- 

 times reaches a foot in length, and the diameter of a swan's quill, and 

 is probably related to Virgularia. We have many specimens. 



The Medusas, or Blubber fishes, are very common. I cannot 

 myself distinguish those which are genuine from those which are 

 merely stages in the reproduction of other creatures. A good 

 many of them can sting and blister the human skin ; and though 

 the injury is not in itself dangerous, the fright and shock to the 

 system of a man or boy suddenly stung in the water by an unseen 

 enemy are sometimes serious. In some cases the sufferer is 

 confused to an extent that puts him in some danger of drowning. 

 A set of flannels is a complete protection. On the Irish coast, I 

 have noticed that those blubbers which are almost colourless are 

 harmless ; the offending species have purple marginal spots. Here, 

 • per contra, the fishermen say that the colourless ones are the 

 stingers, and the spotted innocent. 



Another stinging thing is the " Portuguese man-o'-war," which 

 consists of a longish bladder with several ' ' polypites " and long 

 tentacles and other organs hanging down from it, which steady it in 

 the water, and do the fighting, feeding and love-making ; in short, 

 they are the boatswain tight and the midshipmite and the crew 

 of the Portuguese man-o'-war. It is often di-iven ashore in great 

 numbers ; the polypites dry up to nothing ; and the dry bladder lies 

 on the sands till some one treads on it, and it goes off with a pop, 

 startling if unexpected. Still commoner are the Velellas, little round 

 rafts with a semi-circular sail, and the crew, as before, hanging on 

 the bottom. The fishermen call both of these "Flowers of the deep 

 sea," from their beauty, delicacy, and pelagic habits. 



Sponges of several sorts are not uncommon on the reefs, but 

 none of them are of any size or beauty ; and none are of any use 

 for washing oneself with. I sometimes use them for packing 

 delicate specimens in spirit. From the perforations I find in dead 



