HOW TO CATCH MEDUSAE. 53 



is, indeed, difficult by any description at all to do 

 justice to the appearance of beings so elegant, and 

 we therefore gladly refer our readers to the accom- 

 panying drawings, in which some of their principal 

 forms will be found very successfully delineated (PL I. 

 figs. 4, 6, 7,8, 9, 11 &12). 



The Medusae* are to be sought for in summer and 

 autumn, when the weather is warm and dry, and the 

 sea calm and clear. They abound within reach, mostly 

 in the afternoon and towards nightfall, probably 

 also during the night, though not then so near the 

 surface of the water. A small bag of fine muslin 

 attached to a metal ring is the best instrument with 

 which to take them, and may be used either as a 

 hand-net fixed to the end of a stick or rod, or as a 

 tow-net suspended over the stern of a boat making 

 very gentle way through the water. Beautiful spe- 

 cimens may likewise be obtained by attaching a tow- 

 net to some buoy in a quiet bay and leaving it there 

 during the night. The majority being oceanic, they 

 are most numerous and varied on those parts of our 

 coast which are touched by oceanic currents. 



When the tow-net is taken out of the sea, it ought to 

 be carefully reversed, and its contents gently emptied 

 into a basin or glass jar filled with clear sea- water, 

 and in so doing it is best to plunge the net beneath the 

 surface of the water, as thus the Medusae are enabled 

 to detach themselves from the threads, and swim away 

 without injury. When the net is out of the water, 

 some scrutiny is requisite even to detect their presence; 

 they appear like little, adhering, shapeless masses of 

 * Forbes, British Naked-eyed Medusse. 



