The Rise of Don Antonio 239 



rocky coast, but fasten themselves to small stones any- 

 where in water of medium depth from a few yards to 

 half a mile from shore, and when thrown up show the 

 short roots coiled about small objects with a vise-like 



These hanging gardens of the sea afford a home for 

 a multitude of strange animals, which have a singular 

 protection that of mimicking the tone or colour of the 

 leaf. These animals include crabs, shell-less mollusks, 

 and fishes. One of the crabs, which is nearly two inches 

 across, is so perfect an imitation of the kelp that when 

 lying directly before the eye, it is difficult to see, unless 

 it moves. It has peculiar points and spikes which 

 further intensify the resemblance. Lying on the great 

 leaves are numbers of slug-like creatures, " shells " with- 

 out shells, tinted a rich green, safe in this protection 

 from nearly all intruders. 



But the most remarkable resemblance is seen in a fish 

 called the kelp-fish. It is about a foot in length, of the 

 exact colour of the kelp, with a long continuous dorsal 

 fin frilled exactly like the edge of the leaf. Did this 

 fish dart about or comport itself as other fishes, it would 

 be observed at once, but it does nothing of the kind ; it 

 lies at the bottom or near it, standing literally upon its 

 head, with its tail extending upward, with the shorter 

 kelp leaves, and in this position, hanging in the gardens, 

 waves to and fro with every surge that sways the ocean 

 forest. I have looked for these fishes for a long time, 

 watching every leaf, and finally found that the elusive 



