A Tiny Man-o'-War 



r 



flock, whether as payment for " protection " 

 or pour encourager les autres you may decide 

 for yourself. 



A third sort of zooid, hanging like the others 

 in bunches attached to the float by a single cen- 

 tral stem, comprises those whose function is 

 reproductive. These are shaped like Indian 

 clubs and have purple walls and a creamy inte- 

 rior. Like all the other appendages, they are 

 in continual motion, waving about, writhing, 

 contracting and dilating with the eternal rest- 

 lessness of the sea itself, and ever the rainbow 

 lights shift and glide beneath the silvery sheen. 



Such is the structure and history of this ele- 

 gant creature, which seems as fragile as if 

 blown of thin glass and draped with gossamer, 

 yet survives the beating of gales and the tur- 

 moil of the billows. It has many exquisite filmy 

 relatives in the warmer seas, some of which are 

 frequently met with even on the coasts of New 

 England. 



Buzzard's and Narragansett bays, indeed, 

 having a southern opening, receive numbers of 

 these and other tropical visitors every season. 



^ 79 



