THE STRAIT OF MAGELLAN. 247 



being dragged on to the top of a large boulder by our steam- 

 cutter, which had us in tow. 



A few days after this the screw of the " Nassau" was got 

 up to be cleaned, and we then found it covered with animal 

 organisms, consisting principally of great quantities of a Tubu- 

 larian Hydrozoon, in the masses of which numbers of other 

 animals had taken up their abode. Among the most plentiful 

 of these were two small species of fish (a Blenny, apparently 

 the Blennius gentilis, known previously from California, and 

 a minute Gdbiesox), and some small Molluscs and Crustacea, 

 including thousands of a species of Caprella, which looped 

 their bodies about in the peculiar restless manner so charac- 

 teristic of the genus. This species, which I subsequently 

 referred to Mr. Spence Bate for determination, was pro- 

 nounced by him to be the C. dilatata of Dana, who 

 likewise procured it in Rio harbour. On the 18th, while 

 walking along the aqueduct road, my attention was attracted 

 by the perpetual dripping of large drops of water from the 

 leaves of a Mimosa, to such an extent as to render the ground 

 beneath its shade quite damp, while the soil beneath the 

 other trees was perfectly dry ; and I often noticed the 

 phenomenon on subsequent occasions, without ever being 

 able to explain the cause of it. On the 24th, accompanied 

 by two of the officers of H.M.S. " Narcissus," I went out by 

 'bus to Botafogo, and thence walked through a valley be- 

 tween the hills to the sea outside of Rio harbour. Here 

 there was a sloping beach of fine white sand, on which the 

 sea was breaking with a heavy surf, and which gave forth a 

 peculiar squeaking sound when trod upon. Much amuse- 

 ment was afforded us as we walked along the shore by the 

 movements of a crab, the Ocypoda rhomheay with a white 

 bleached-looking body, numbers of which were reposing on 

 the dry sand at the distance of some yards from the water, 



