ACALEPH^E. 249 



" Let us- report our own experiments," continues M. Bicord-Madiana. 



" I. I had placed a ' galley ' in the sun, in order to dry and pulverize 

 it. A nest of ants were there, who devoured the whole of it. Now, 

 many persons in the islands think that these insects will not touch 

 venomous fishes. 



"II. Another ' galley,' which I had left on the tahle in my 

 laboratory, was attacked by a number of great flies, who deposited 

 their eggs there ; these were duly hatched, and the larvae fed on the 

 decomposed zoophyte. 



" III. On the 12th of July, 1823, I saw on the sands in the bay 

 between Saint Mary and La Goyave, at Guadaloupe, many Physalia 

 recently cast ashore. Having a dog with me, with the assistance of 

 my servant, I made him swallow the freshest of them, with all its 

 filiform tentacles, pushing it down his throat, while my servant held 

 his mouth open ; five minutes after,, the dog exhibited symptoms of 

 great pain on the edges of its lips ; it foamed at the mouth and rubbed 

 it in the sand, or upon the grass, leaping about, passing its paws over 

 its jaws, and exhibiting every symptom of excessive pain. I mounted 

 my horse, and, in spite of its sufferings, the poor animal followed me 

 as it was wont. After twenty minutes, when its sufferings seemed 

 over,, I had a piece of bread which I gave it, and it ate it with 

 appetite, swallowing it without any difficulty ; it only seemed to feel 

 the pain on the edges of its mouth : it was well enough all day, and 

 had evacuations which gave no indication that the Physalia had any 

 influence over the digestive organs. Next day, and the day following, 

 it was as well as usual, exhibiting no signs of inflammation either in 

 the mouth or throat. 



" IV. On the 20th of the same month, I took two ' galleys ' on the 

 sea-shore and cut them in pieces ; then, with a spoon, I had them 

 forced down the throat of a puppy, which still sucked its mother ; 

 this strong dose of Physalia had no effect upon it, the tentacles having 

 probably been surrounded by the fleshy parts of the animal in dividing 

 it, so as not to touch the mouth : it seems probable, therefore, that the 

 internal mucus is capable of subduing the irritation, which is so 

 distressing when applied to membranes exposed to the external air. 

 We swallow some things with impunity, which we could not support 

 in the mouth if the burning substance remained there. 



" Y. I have also procured many ' galleys ' since these experiments, 



