THE BALOLO. 61 



four inches below the surface of the water, but the 

 little creatures were so thick above it that it was quite 

 invisible. At first I could not make up my mind to 

 touch them, but seeing every one else doing so, I sum- 

 moned up all my courage, plunged in my hands, and 

 grasped a goodish number, of which, however, I got rid 

 as quickly as possible. The little slimy things twist 

 round the hand in half a second. They are, of course, 

 perfectly harmless, swim very fast, and the longer ones 

 have sometimes five or six coils in the body. When at 

 the thickest they are all entangled one in another, 

 which gives a very curious appearance, as they are of 

 various colours, green, red, brown, and sometimes white. 

 As the sun gains power they dissolve, and about eight 

 or nine o'clock you scarcely find one. It is always in 

 November they come in such masses, just after the last 

 quartering of the moon, and they rise with the tide. 

 As soon as the natives have gathered all they can, they 

 make fires and ovens to cook them. Small quantities of 

 Balolos are tied up in bread-fruit leaves, and have to 

 lie in the oven from twelve to eighteen hours. When 

 all is cooked, the natives expect a heavy shower of rain, 

 as they say to put out the fires of their ovens. Should 

 there be no rain, a bad yam season is predicted." 



Several of the white residents eat Balolo, and a 

 strong-minded English lady assured me it was quite a 

 relish ; however, everybody knows the old proverb, " De 

 gustibus," etc., and if in the Samoan, Tongan, Fijian, or 

 New Hebrides group in all of which the Balolo is 

 found a dish of this description should be served up, 

 strangers must exercise their own discretion whether 



