THE SALLEE MAN. 739 



beautiful little creature, we need only observe that this being has been proved to be the 

 young, or larval state of the Feather-star. During this stage of its existence, the young 

 Comatula is affixed to its ever-lengthening stem, but when it has attained adult age, it 

 leaves its footstalk and wanders freely through the ocean. 



The reader will not fail to observe that herein the creature acts in precisely the opposite 

 mode to that which is adopted by many beings which have already been described. In 

 those marine animals of which the acorn-barnacle is a good example, the young enjoys 

 freedom throughout its earlier stages, is furnished with certain organs which it afterwards 

 loses, and does not settle down to one spot until it has attained adult age. In the case 

 of the Comatula, the contrast between the two states of life is very strongly marked, 

 the creature being of a more nomad nature than the rest of its kin, and, in swimming, 

 presenting a curious resemblance to the Medusa, the arms contracting and expanding 

 in a manner that strongly reminds the observer of the pulsating disk of the acaleph. 



ACALEPHA. 



WE now arrive at a large and important class of animals. 



These beings are scientifically termed Acalepha, or Nettles, a word which may be 

 freely rendered as Sea-nettles. The term is appropriate to many of the species which 

 compose this large class, for a very great number of the Acalepha are possessed of cer- 

 tain poisoned weapons which pierce the skin, and irritate the nerves as if they were 

 veritable stinging-nettles floating about in the sea. Popularly, they are known by the 

 familiar term Jelly-fishes, because their structure is so gelatinous, mostly clear and 

 transparent, but sometimes semi-opaque or colored with most beautiful tints. 



The whole history of these remarkable animals is curious and interesting in the ex- 

 treme, for not only do they exhibit some of the most graceful shapes and pleasing hues 

 that can add beauty to a living being, but they also afford examples of the earlier forms 

 of organs and members which in the higher animals attain their fullest development. 



When they have attained their adult condition, they roam the seas freely, though in 

 their earlier stages they are fixed to one spot and assume a shape quite unlike that of 

 their parent. Examples of this curious phenomenon will presently be given. 



The function of nutrition is carried on in these animals in a method sufficiently 

 simple. They are furnished with a cavity, corresponding to the stomach of higher 

 animals, in which the food is placed, and from which a number of diverging vessels 

 convey the nutritive fluid to the rest of the body. 



For convenience' sake, this class is divided into three groups or orders, the first of 

 which is called the Siphonophora, and includes the best organized members of the class. 

 In them the shape of the body is irregular, and there is no central cavity. They are 

 furnished with sucking organs, and move by means of a certain cavity into which water 

 is received gently and from -which it is expelled forcibly, or sometimes by means of 

 little sacs or vesicles charged with air. 



Owing to the vast number of species contained in this class, it is manifestly impos- 

 sible to mention all the curious and interesting animals which it includes. Care, how- 

 ever, has been taken to select those species which afford the best types of their orders, 

 and it will be found that almost every group of importance will find its representation 

 in the following pages. 



ON the right hand of the accompanying illustration may be seen a remarkable crea- 

 ture, called by the popular name of SALLEE MAN, sometimes corrupted, in nautical 

 fashion, into SALLYMAN. 



