THREE CRUISES OF THE “ BLAKE.” 
212 
“Talisman " constantly crossed long bands of Sargassum trail- 
ing according to the direction of the winds and the currents, 
and forming larger or smaller patches, which were, however, 
rarely more than four or five yards square. Yet the “ Talis- 
man " crossed the Sargasso Sea from north to south in the areas 
indicated in the charts as the most prolific in Sargassum. 
The weed as described by the younger Milne-Edwards does 
not differ from that which we have frequently examined. The 
central stalk and the basal leaves are usually of a brownish tint, 
the terminal leaves, on the contrary, of a greenish-yellow golden 
tint. The same animals as those commonly found in the gulf- 
weed of the West Indies were collected by the “ Talisman." The 
number of fishes alone, perhaps, is somewhat more varied. The 
botanist attached to the expedition did not succeed in finding 
any branches with reproductive organs, although the terminal 
shoots were in most active states of development; and he came 
to the conclusion, as Harvey and others had done before him, 
that, while pelagic, the Sargassum increases merely like a cut- 
ting of extraordinary vitality. We were not fortunate enough 
to find it in fructification, but Professor Moseley states that he 
saw specimens covered with fructification in Harrington Sound, 
Bermudas. 
Only by placing a piece of the gulf-weed in a jar of sea- 
water, with abundant space for 1t to expand, do we get an idea 
of its beauty and its graceful form. The delicate fronds, of all 
shades, from deep olive to golden yellow, are often crossed by a 
delicate tracery of hydroids and of bryozoan reticulation, which 
stands out in bold relief of white upon a dark background. 
In the “ Narrative of the Challenger” is given a list of the 
species of animals occurring on the Sargassum. Many ob- 
servers have described the antics performed by the hosts of 
erustacea when shaken out of their hiding-places, and, have 
dwelt at length on the phenomena of mimicry noticed among 
the crustacea, mollusks, annelids, and other animals which make 
their abode among the fronds, stems, or air-vessels of the gulf- 
weed. At first glance the bunch of weed seems deserted, but 
shake it in a glass dish, and hundreds of many-colored deni- 
zens are seen rushing about in all directions, eager to return to 
