Ch. XXI.] SAEGASSO SEA. 3GT 



two pairs of hairy legs, and those of the head like a pair of 

 long drooping ears, and the whole animal singularly like a 

 long-haired Scotch terrier. The spawn of Scyllsea I often 

 found twined in a narrow cylindrical coil in a very intricate 

 manner around the leaves of the Sargasso, and enveloped in 

 a gelatinous substance. Here and there a curious little fish 

 (Chironectes), of various shades of a rich brown colour, lived 

 on the weed — the pectoral fins bent in a singular manner, 

 and looking precisely like hands, by which it grasped firmly 

 on to the Sargasso. It was most curious to watch one of 

 these fishes iu a globe of water, where it lived a consider- 

 able time, and readily came to be fed with little scraps of 

 meat. But here again a remarkable circumstance was to be 

 noted — viz., that aU the inhabitants of the gulf-weed were 

 more or less of the same colour as the weed itself. The 

 little crabs here were aU brown of various shades — the 

 fishes were brown — the Scyllseas were aU brown — so 

 that a uniform tint pervaded the whole, and it was 

 difficult to perceive the animals in the weed, unless they 

 were in motion. The Polyzoa and minute Zoophytes (Cam- 

 panularia), as well as minute Annelids, which grew upon 

 the weed, also afforded interesting occupation for the 

 microscope. 



I had been told of a large crab having been seen to swim 

 past the ship ; and I one day captured such an one in the 

 towing-net, a species of Neptunus (N. pelagicus), which must 

 be a terrific scourge to these populous communities. With 

 considerable swimming powers, and pincers of a peculiarly 

 trenchant character, such as usually accompany the flattened, 

 paddle-form of posterior legs, this monster appears to wander 

 from patch to patch of Sargasso, depopulating one of these 

 floating pastures, and then making for another, which it 



