76 LIFE BY THE SEASHORE. 



fore have nothing whatever to do with Insects, so that that 

 artless little metaphor about the devotion to duty exhibited 

 by the "coral insect," which has rooted itself so deeply in 

 the mind of the popular orator, is sheer nonsense a not 

 uncommon characteristic of oratorical "scientific analogies." 

 We have already mentioned the fact that the big "jelly- 

 fish," as distinct from the delicate swimming-bells, appear 

 to be related to the sea-anemones and Alcyonarians rather 

 than to the Hydrozoa. Of these jelly-fish only some three 

 or four are common round our coasts, but these often occur 

 in such countless numbers that they are more or less 

 familiar to everyone. We shall only describe one of these 

 in detail, choosing it because certain stages in its life- 

 history are to be found on the shore rocks. This is Aurelia 

 aurita, easily recognised by four horseshoe-shaped purple 

 bands seen on its dorsal surface, and recommended by the 

 fact that it can be handled without danger of being stung, 

 so far, at least, as my experience goes. Let us begin with 

 the larva, which is certainly minute and harmless enough. 

 It is a little creature called a hydra-tuba, is pure white, and 

 is to be found attached to rocks by one end of its body, 

 while the other is furnished with a mouth surrounded by 

 waving tentacles. It is, you may say, merely a polype of 

 a type with which you are now quite familiar. This is 

 indeed the case, but it has been shown that, small and 

 simple as it appears, the hydra-tuba in certain points 

 suggests connection with the sea-anemones and not with 

 the Hydrozoa. It is usually not more than one-eighth of 

 an inch in height, and is to be found far out on the rocks. 

 In late summer it undergoes certain changes presently to 

 be described, but, oddly enough, these changes may some- 

 times be arrested for an apparently indefinite period. I 

 have seen captive specimens which the owner assured me 

 had been kept for several years without showing any signs 

 of change. Under natural conditions, however, the little 

 hydra-tuba elongates and becomes marked by a series of 

 transverse lines, so that it appears like a pile of saucers. 

 A little later the top "saucer" floats off, turns over, and 

 becomes a little jelly-fish which grows rapidly and becomes 

 an Aurelia. The same thing occurs with the lower 

 "saucers" of the pile, so that the tiny hydra-tuba gives 



