THE VICTORIAN NATURALIST. 25 



regions is quite in unison with the personal facts gleaned by- 

 members of this club in their outings, either for pond life or on 

 the seashore. A glimpse of life in a Sargasso Sea is caught from 

 an article, "The Nest Builders of the Sea." The author writes : — 

 " In the vast tract, occupying an area of 260,000 miles, popularly 

 denominated the Sargasso Sea, are found numbers of animals that 

 seem peculiarly adapted by various modifications to the pelagic 

 life they lead. In the full enjoyment of our novel surroundings 

 we were attracted by a singular object peering out of the water. 

 The curious creature proved to be the pelagic fish, Antennarius 

 marmoratus, so exact in its imitation to the sargassum that, had 

 we not been familiar with it, it would have been passed by. The 

 tall and barbeled dorsal fins were out of the water. It was 

 resting upon its nest, an oval mass of sargassum somewhat 

 smaller than a football. This curious creature, whose pectoral 

 fins resemble hmbs, selects from the floating algse bits of 

 Sargassum bacceferum, which consist of feathery branches, each 

 tuft having a thread-like branching stem studded with round air- 

 vessels that form perfect floats or buoys. These are collected 

 into a single mass by the fish, and woven in* and out in a 

 seemingly incomprehensible manner. A bit is taken in its mouth, 

 with which the fish dives into the mass, coming out at the 

 opposite side. As the nest assumes a more compact shape a 

 gelatinous substance is attached to the various parts that serves 

 to cement them. It is now an irregular oval, floated by the air- 

 vessels. Around the nest the quaint parents move, or recline 

 upon it as we have seen. When the eggs are hatched the bands 

 are loosened, and in the nest, that, in consequence of the growth 

 of its substance, has become a veritable living arbour, the young 

 find abundant protection, and closely resemble the bits of weed 

 among which they lie concealed." 



Referring to the seaweeds collected by Mr. Hall at Kerguelen's 

 Land. The greater portion was taken from the rocks (when 

 uncovered), or picked up on the shore after the heavy tides. 

 Amongst the seaweed may be seen a tiny piece of Lessonia, 

 which gives a very poor idea of this magnificent plant, which is 

 certainly the bulkiest seaweed yet discovered. It only grows in 

 deep water ; it is tree-like in habit. In one of those wonderful 

 .books of Jules Verne there is an excellent word-picture of these 

 seaweeds ; and remember that he only speaks in a fictional way 

 of real scientific facts. He presents his hero crawling along the 

 bottom of the sea, casting up his eyes in astonishment at the 

 enormous forms of Lessonia towering above his head for 

 hundreds of feet, the vast stem producing large branches, which 

 bifurcate into smaller and smaller until mere twigs, like those on 

 terrestrial trees ; these bear myriads of leaves that hang gracefully 

 downward. 



