40 DOUSING THE SAILS. 



portions of the fish, which imparted to the almost transparent 

 coats of the suckers a distinct silvery hue, as though they had 

 been injected with mercury. Dr. Bennett made several careful 

 dissections to ascertain whether these tubular suckers terminated 

 in any common receptacle, or organ at all analogous to a stomach, 

 but no trace of anything of the sort could be found ; so that there 

 can be no doubt that these suckers form the Physalia's only 

 digestive apparatus. 



With a view to ascertain whether there was any truth in the 

 current opinion as to the stinging powers of the Physalia, Dr. 

 Bennett once seized hold of a specimen by the distended bladder ; 

 but he paid a heavy penalty for his daring. The animal at once 

 drew up its long slender filaments, and, entwining them about the 

 hand and fingers which held it, inflicted severe and pungent pain ; 

 adhering, at the same time, so tenaciously, that it was only with 

 great difficulty they could be torn off piece by piece. The pain, 

 moreover, extended upwards along the arm, and continued to be 

 felt throughout the day. 



As in the case of the Veldla, vast shoals of the Physalia are 

 often encountered in the tropic seas, where the surface of the 

 ocean is frequently crowded with their bright and glittering forms 

 over an area of considerable extent. Mr. Gosse, in his " Letters 

 from Alabama," has an interesting account of an immense fleet of 

 this interesting Jelly-fish, which he encountered at the entrance 

 to the Gulf of Mexico. They were of all sizes, from an inch to a foot 

 or more in length ; and they studded the smooth surface of the 

 sea as far as the eye could reach ; the vessel, indeed, was nearly a 

 whole day in getting clear of them. It often happens that in 

 passing just under the lee of a vessel, the sudden lull, caused by 

 the interposition of the ship between it and the wind, causes it 

 for a moment to lie flat on the water, instantly afterwards re- 

 suming its upright position. The English Jack-tar, it seems, 

 takes this " dousing its sails," on the part of the " foreigner," as 

 a fitting act of homage to the British flag. It is commonly said, 

 that should danger threaten the Physalia while thus wafted 

 along on the bosom of the deep, it can at once contract its sail, 

 expel a portion of the contents of the air-bladder, and descend in 

 security to the depths below. But this seems to be a mistake. 

 All who have examined the animal in a living state concur in the 

 statement that it has no apparent means of discharging the con- 



