I shall conclude with a few remarks on the best methods of studying and preserving the 

 Naked-eyed Medusae. 



They 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 night- 

 fall — 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 by which to take them, 

 and may be used either as a hand-net fixed to the end of a stick or pole, or as a tow-net 

 suspended over the stem of a vessel, when at anchor, or making very gentle way through 

 the water. My friend Professor Acland took great numbers at Oban, by attaching a tow-net 

 to the buoy in the bay, and leaving it there during the night. They abound most in sheltered 

 bays near strong tideways or headlands projecting into the Atlantic. The majority 

 being oceanic, they are most numerous and varied on those parts of our shores which are 

 touched by oceanic currents. Hitherto the Zetlands, Hebrides, and coasts of Cornwall have 

 yielded the greater number of species. Many new forms may be expected to occur on the 

 Atlantic coasts of Ireland. Indeed, I fully expect that the number of British species will be 

 doubled within the next ten years, now that attention is directed to these beautiful little 

 animals. * » 



When the tow-net is taken out of the sea it is to be carefully reversed, and its contents 

 gently emptied into a basin or glass jar, filled with clear salt water. It is best to plunge the 

 net beneath the surface when being emptied, 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, 

 they appear like little, adhering, shapeless masses of clear jelly, and exhibit no traces of their 

 elegant form and ornaments. When in the jar or basin, they are often, on account of their 

 extreme transparency, very diflScult to distinguish, but by placing the vessel in the sun, or 

 beside a strong artificial light, we see their shadows floating over the sides and bottom of the 

 basin, like the shadows of flitting clouds on a landscape. These soon guide us to the creatures 

 themselves, and before long we distinguish their ocelli and coloured reproductive organs. 

 The next step is to secure such as we wish to examine closely, and transfer them to watch- 

 glasses or small glass tubes. To do this is often not an easy task, for when alarmed they 

 are extremely agile and alert ; so that if we attempt to capture them with a teaspoon, they 

 usually escape us, or if taken, by their slippery nature, slide out of the spoon whilst we pour 

 away the superabundant water. This difficulty may be got over by using a small but deep 

 glass spoon, with its handle set very obhquely. When we have placed some in a glass tube 

 with a httle water, or in a small compressed glass jar, which I find an excellent aid in exa- 

 mining them, we can observe their profile, the changes their body undergoes when 

 contracting and expanding, and the extent to which the creature can lengthen its tentacula. 

 We then place them in a watch-glass and submit them to microscopic examination, 

 carefully noting the number, colour, form, and structure of the ocelli and tentacula, the 

 arrangement of the gastro-vascular canals and reproductive glands, and the form and 



12 



