THE MISCHIEF OF FIRE AND WATER 



extent. The three months, therefore, of our stay in that 

 group were principally devoted to exploring the groves 

 of the ocean, where flowers bloomed no less beautiful 

 than those of the forbidden lands, and rocks of coral 

 growth afforded instruction of deep interest. The speci- 

 mens were obtained by wading over the reefs at low tide, 

 with one or more buckets at hand to receive the gathered 

 clumps ; or, where too deep for this, by floating slowly 

 along in a canoe with two or three natives, and, through 

 the clear waters, pointing out any desired coral to one of 

 them, who would glide o the bottom, and soon return 

 with his hands loaded, lay down his treasures, and pre- 

 pare for another descent. When taken out of its element, 

 the coral often appears as if lifeless; but placing it in a 

 basin of sea-water, the polyps after a while expand, and 

 cover the branches like flowers. Four-fifths of the ob- 

 servations in this department were made at the Feejee 

 group." 



' The number of new species of zoophytes described," 

 continues Prof. E. S. Dana, " was over two hundred; in 

 the Report on Crustacea six hundred and eighty species 

 were described, of which upwards of five hundred were 

 new. A large part of the collections in Crustacea were 

 lost by the wreck of the Peacock on the shores of Oregon. 

 It may, perhaps, be worth recalling that many of the type 

 specimens were later destroyed by fire in Chicago, while 

 the copies of the published work suffered three times 

 most seriously in the same way. The first time was 

 during its publication at Philadelphia and resulted in the 

 loss of many of the original colored drawings, to the per- 

 manent injury of the work, since they could not be re- 

 placed. The two other fires were at New Haven ; the last 

 one (1894) largely destroyed the residue of the plates 

 when being collated by the binder preparatory to their 

 being presented to some friends of the author." 



