1G ALONG THE FLORIDA REEF. 



imitator in the fantastic angel-fish which we 

 shall see among these very coral reefs. For 

 every animal on land there is in the sea some 

 creature which seems to fulfill the same office, 

 though, of course, under changed conditions." 



The conversation was here interrupted by 

 the dinghy coming to a sudden standstill. It 

 had run into a great bunch of sea-weed. 



" It's a regular Sargasso sea," said Tom, 

 laughing. "We could almost use this as an 

 anchor." 



"That has been done with some species," 

 answered his father. "There is found near 

 Tierra del Fuego a gigantic sea-weed called 

 Macrocystis pyrifera, which grows in water two 

 hundred and forty feet deep, and is so firmly 

 rooted that vessels during smooth water are fre- 

 quently made fast to it." 



Here Dick, who had been towing after him 

 a mass of the weed, suddenly noticed that some 

 spherical pieces of the weed had been separated 

 from the rest. Seizing one of them, he tossed it 

 into the boat, 



" Here's a marine base-ball," said he. 



