THE OPEN SEA BEACH 289 



thinas they Cannot sink and they Hve in com- 

 munities a sort of pelagic life in the open sea. 

 The shells af e thin and together with the entire 

 animal are a lovely violet color. At least four 

 species inhabit our waters though Janthina com- 

 munis is much the most common. 



I once made a cruise in the schooner A sa Eldridge 

 from Bradentown, Florida, to Honduras and on a 

 Sunday morning while lying at Key West I strolled 

 over to the north shore of the island. As I ap- 

 proached I saw from a short distance that it was 

 everywhere a mass of glowing violet color and 

 then I found it to be covered from below tide to 

 well out on the land with fresh Janthinas. All 

 the depressions and pot holes in the rocky shore 

 were fiUed, — ^in places several feet deep. A vast 

 community or gathering of them probably ex- 

 tending for miles had stranded the night be- 

 fore on the beach. It was the most astounding 

 sight in the way of moUuscan life I had ever 

 seen and when I recovered from my surprise I 

 proceeded to collect specimens. Lacking any 

 receptacle in which to put them I used my 

 handkerchief, then my new straw hat, then one 

 pocket after another of my fresh white linen 

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