CHAPTER XL 



THE SEA NETTLES. 



THE Medusa, or jelly-fish, so often observed on 

 the sea- shore, is one of the Acalephs,* a name de- 

 rived from the Greek word signifying a nettle, a 

 class of beings placed by naturalists in the next 

 rank to those which have j ust been considered. One 

 is provided with long filaments, as represented in 

 the engraving. Another crea- 

 ture has a central pedicle, de- 

 scending from the lower sur- 

 face, which hangs quite loose 

 among the waves. Its surface 

 is covered with pores, each one 

 being the commencement of a 

 fine canal, joining others, till 

 at length large trunks are 

 found, through which, what- 

 ever is imbibed by the root-like 

 stem is poured into the central or digestive cavity. 

 Other canals diverge from thence, run to the mar- 

 gin of the disc, and become a network of fine 

 vessels, conveying nutriment throughout the body. 

 It might be supposed that such a creature a living 

 jelly, was ill fitted to prey on other animals. But, 

 * Acalephee. 



CUVIERIA CABIOSCHROMA. 



