254 THE OCEAN WOELD. 



series of facts witnessed by such excellent observers ; the venomous 

 virulence of these organs has been abundantly proved by many natu- 

 ralists, myself among the number, and Mr. Bennett to his cost, as 

 already narrated. We can only suppose that the injection of the 

 poison is under the control of the Physalia's will, and the impunity of 

 the bold little fishes is sufficiently accounted for." 



Among the Physalia captured on our coast, one was obtained at 

 Tenby, by Mr. Hughes, who has given a report of the capture, in which 

 he mentions a circumstance as " normal," which excited Mr. Gosse's 

 curiosity ; it was said to be accompanied by " its attendant satellites, 

 two Vilellse. In reply to his inquiries, Mr. Hughes says, " My autho- 

 rity for the association of the Yilella with Physalia is Jenkins, the 

 collector of Tenby, who was attending me when it was found. The 

 Physalia was taken by me first ; and, while I was admiring it, I noticed 

 that Jenkins continued his search for something. Immediately after- 

 wards he came up with the Yilella in his hand, at the same time 

 stating they were generally found with the Portuguese man-of-war. 

 As I had found him very honest and truthful in his dealings with me, 

 I accepted his information as correct." 



CTENOPHOKA. 



We have now reached the last class of polyps ; those, namely, which 

 Cuvier designates Hydrostatic Acaleplia, and which De Blainville calls 

 the Ciliobranchid. The body of these polyps presents marginal 

 fringes furnished with vibratile cilia, which are swimming organs. 

 Moreover, as these vibratile fringes are inserted directly over the prin- 

 cipal canal, in which the nourishing fluid circulates, they ought neces- 

 sarily to concur in the act of respiration, by determining the renewal of 

 the water in contact with the corresponding portion of the tegumen- 

 tary membrane. 



The class may be divided into three orders or families, namely, 

 Beroe, CalUanirea, and Cestea. 



The creatures belonging to these three orders swarm in the deep 

 sea ; they often appear quite suddenly, and in vast numbers, in certain 

 localities. 



The Heroes of Forskahl have been studied with great care 



