260 NEW ZEALAND TO AUSTRALIA CHAP, xi 



animals, to which was added Actinia natans. I again saw 

 undoubted proofs that the albatrosses eat Holothurice or 

 Portuguese men-of-war? as the seamen call them. I had 

 also an opportunity of observing the manner in which this 

 animal stings. The body consists of a bladder, on the upper 

 side of which is fixed a kind of sail, which he erects or 

 depresses at pleasure : the edges of this he also at pleasure 

 gathers in, so as to make it concave on one side and convex 

 on the other, varying the concavity or convexity to which- 

 ever side he pleases, for the conveniency of catching the 

 wind which moves him slowly upon the surface of the sea 

 in any direction he wishes. Under the bladder hang 

 down two kinds of strings, one smooth, transparent and harm- 

 less, the other full of small round knobs, having much the 

 appearance of small beads strung together : these he contracts 

 or extends sometimes to the length of four feet. Both these 

 and the others are in this species of a lovely ultramarine 

 blue, but in the more common one, which is many times 

 larger than this, being nearly as large as a goose's egg, they 

 are of a fine red. With these latter, however, he does his 

 mischief, stinging, or burning, as it is called. If touched by 

 any substance they immediately throw out millions of 

 exceedingly fine white threads, about a line in length, which 

 pierce the skin and adhere to it, giving very acute pain. 

 When the animal thrusts them out of the little knobs or 

 beads which are not in contact with some substance they can 

 pierce, they appear very visibly to the naked eye like small 

 fibres of snow-white cotton. 



1 3th. Shooting as usual, but saw no new bird except a 

 gannet, which came not near me. Of these for four or five 

 days past I have killed a good many ; indeed, during the 

 whole time they have been tame and appeared unknowing 

 and unsuspicious of men, the generality of them flying to 

 the boat as soon as they saw it, which is generally the case 

 at great distances from land. Took up Dagysa vitrea and 

 gemma, Medusa radiata and porpita, Helix ianthina, very 

 large Doris complanata, and Beroe lilola : saw a large shoal 



1 See footnote, p. 15. 



