THE VELELLA AND SAILING RAFT. 3 



figure of which, taken from a specimen in my collection, is 

 given in the illustration, and drawn of the natural size. 



It is one of that vast army of marine creatures known 

 familiarly by the name of "jelly-fishes," just as lobsters, crabs, 

 shrimps, oysters, whelks, periwinkles, and the like, are lumped 

 together under the title of " shell-fish." As a rule, these 

 creatures are soft, gelatinous, and, in fact, are very little 

 more than sea- water entangled in the finest imaginable mesh- 

 work of animal matter ; so fine, indeed, that scarcely any 

 definite organs can be discovered. The Velella, however, is 



VELELLA (NATURAL SIZE). SAILING BAFT. 



remarkable for having a sort of skeleton, if it may be so called, 

 consisting of two very thin and horny plates, disposed, as 

 shown in the illustration, so as to form an exact imitation (or 

 perhaps I should say a precursor) of a raft propelled by a sail. 

 Indeed, the Latin name Velella signifies a little sail. 



How well deserved is the name may be seen by the follow- 

 ing graphic account of a Velella fleet sent to me by a lady who 

 takes great interest in practical zoology : 



" The specimens which I send came from Tenby, a very 

 rough sea having driven a large living fleet of them on that 

 coast. 



"When in life, they are semi-transparent, and radiant in 

 many rainbow-tinted colours. They came floating towards 

 me in all their fragile beauty on the rough sea waves. I 

 succeeded in capturing some of them, and preserved the only 

 portion available for my collection. 



" They are extremely tender, and by no means with which 

 I am acquainted can be preserved more than these skeleton- 

 like cartilaginous plates. They soon dissolve in either spirits 

 of wine or water, and lose every vestige of their shape and 



