132 BIOLOGICAL LECTURES. 



the skin lining the pocket, and which has been transformed 

 into one continuous thread in such a manner that when 

 brought into contact with water it unrolls itself in layers, 

 much like a spool of knitting-silk, when it comes to pieces in 

 layers, and straightens out in the water in an incredibly short 

 space of fllme. After such a discharge, if one attempt to take 

 the fish out of the water, one will notice that the fish is 

 pushed away from before the hand, and that it is impossible 

 to touch it ; and, further, that there is an invisible something 

 between one's hand and the fish. By pouring off the water, 

 or raising the fish above the surface, you find the creature 

 inclosed in a transparent, gelatinous mass of about the con- 

 sistency of thick egg albumen, which is extremely slippery, 

 and yet adhesive and, at the same time, not readily broken 

 into pieces, notwithstanding its apparent gelatinous nature. 



A single fish will quickly fill a 

 ;-... bucket with this so-called slime ; 

 ^$RS^v;\ : ;:!; ; .\ i.e., convert the water into such 

 " i'fSj*-! a thick jelly. But the amount of 

 'x'Jv/' solid substance, i.e., the mass of 

 **' the exploded thread cells required 

 to hold the water together in this 

 FIG. 2. To illustrate the way in way, is not equal to a piece of tis- 



which Bdellostoma surrounds itself gue the size Q the bottom 



with a mass of tangled threads, in 



the meshes of which a great quan- * *" e bucket. 



tity of water is held. The consist- You see from this short account 



ency of the mass is that of egg that Bdellostoma is provided with 

 albumen. . 



a simple but errective means ot 



protection from its enemies, and at the same time with a good 

 nest-building apparatus, for it can at a moment's notice secrete 

 a dwelling-place exactly fitted to its body without stirring out of 

 its place, no matter what position it may be in. Oftentimes these 

 nest-shaped masses are brought up with the fish from the bottom. 

 Bdellostoma is not so much of a parasite as it is commonly 

 reputed to be. It lives on or close to the bottom of the sea 

 and like its relative, Myxine, it seems to prefer mud-covered 

 surfaces in which it may partly conceal itself. It feeds upon 

 fishes of the Teleost group. It is not known that they ever 



