FOURTH WEEK] 



June 



but they seemed to cause the starfish no inconvenience 

 whatever. 



In my submarine glimpses I saw spaces free from sea- 

 weed on which hundreds of tall polyps were growing, some 

 singly, others in small tufts. The solitary individuals rise 

 three or four inches by a nearly straight stalk, surmounted 

 by a many-tentacled head. This droops gracefully to one 

 side and the general effect is that of a bed of rose-coloured 

 flowers. From the 

 heads hang grape- 

 like masses, which 

 on examination in 

 a tumbler are seen 

 to be immature me- 

 dusae. Each of these 

 develop to the point 

 where the four ra- 

 diating canals are 

 discernible and then 

 their growth comes 

 to a standstill, and 

 they never attain 

 the freedom for which their structure fits them. 



When the wind blew inshore, I would often find the 

 water fairly alive with large sun- jellies or Aurelia, their 

 Latin name. Their great milky-white bodies would 

 come heaving along and bump against me, giving a very 

 11 crawly " sensation. The circle of short tentacles and 

 the four horseshoe-shaped ovaries distinguish this jelly- 

 fish from all others. When I had gone down as far as I 



AURELIA. 



