8 TRANSACTIONS OF THE WAGNER FREE 



Here we were informed of the recent finding of mastodon remains at a 

 locality some three miles distant, but, unfortunately, the limited time at 

 our command did not permit us to visit the spot. I followed the coast 

 line for about a mile south of the town, through a dreary sand tract of 

 yellow pine and saw-palmetto, in the hopes of finding an outcrop of rock, 

 but without success. At Clearwater the most elevated point of land on 

 the west coast, the dune, to which reference has already been made in 

 the introduction, makes its appearance, rising to the very modest height 

 of 32 feet. Immediately north of the landing a tough siliceo-calcareous 

 rock juts out from the ocean beach, but the scanty and unsatisfactory 

 condition of its contained organic remains precluded the positive deter- 

 mination of its position in the geological scale, although in all proba- 

 bility a belonging of the Oligocene series. 



We grounded again just off the passage of Sand Key, and remained 

 becalmed and anchored for a full day and a half in a somewhat unprofit- 

 able position. The sand-beach on the ocean side of the key was literally 

 packed with the shells of Venus cancellata, but I failed to observe a single 

 live animal of that species, although undoubtedly an inhabitant of the 

 adjoining waters. Among the living Mollusca, Strotnbus pugilis, Fascio- 

 laria tulipa, and Fiilgur pcrvcrsnin were sufficiently abundant ; the last, 

 however, was most numerously represented on the inner side of the 

 key, on the mud-flats, where its egg-capsules or spawn-ribbons, many 

 of them evidently only recently deposited, lay scattered about. Although 

 our attention was centred in that direction, we observed but few indi- 

 viduals in the virtual act of depositing this ribbon, but, doubtless, many 

 others performing the operation escaped our notice. In these instances 

 the animal was in greater part buried in the sand or mud, the spawn- 

 ribbon being anchored by the smaller end to a shell or pebble. On lifting 

 the animal from its cover, the ribbon was almost immediately ejected. 



The crown-conch (Melongoia corona), judging from its abundance, 

 evidently found here a most congenial home among the mud-flats. In 

 shoal water the bottom was covered for acres with two species of 

 sea-anemone (Cerianthus), whose habits could be very easily studied 

 through the transparent water. Owing to the depth, a foot or more, to 

 which the animals were immersed in the sand, and the tenacity with 

 which they held on to their anchorages, it was almost impossible to 

 obtain perfect specimens. I observed that the body portion, or external 

 tunic of the animal, was much more sensitive to impacts than the tentac- 

 ular ; thus, if touched on the body, the animal almost instantly withdrew, 

 whereas if the tentacular portion only was touched, there was frequently 

 a decided hesitancy on the part of the animal to withdraw. This was not 

 always the case, however. When once retracted the animal remained in 

 this condition for a considerable period. I noticed, too, that a cloud ot 



