210 THE BEROE. 



Within the shadow of the ship 

 I watched their rich attire- 

 Blue, glossy green, and velvet black, 

 They curled and swam ; and every track 

 Was a flash of golden fire.' 



Another of this ckss is the common Berog 

 (Cydippe pileus) ; its body is melon-shaped, and 

 covered over by rows or bands of cilia, placed 

 similarly to the treads on a water wheel, one above 

 another. These are entirely under the will of the 

 little gelatine. It can use each or all of them, and 

 thus row itself along at pleasure. But perhaps the 

 most singular portion of this creature is what has 

 been termed its fishing apparatus, though by some 

 writers it is considered merely to be the means by 

 which the Beroe anchors its body to any desired 

 spot. It consists of two exceedingly slender fila- 

 ments or streamers, which measure many times the 

 length of the Beroe itself. Some writers, again, 

 fancy that these organs are used to propel the 

 animal. This must be an erroneous notion, for if 

 they were cut off, the creature would still continue 

 to move with the same power as before. Nay more, 

 if the little Cydippe be cut into pieces, and the ciliated 

 bands be attached to each fragment, the latter will 

 swim about with the same power as when connected 

 with the entire animal. 



From the filaments here described, others more 

 slender still depend at regular intervals, which curl 

 up like vine tendrils upon the principal stem. The 



