60 A MISSION TO VITI. 
hence termed Vula i Balolo lailai, 7. e. the little Balolo 
month. Myriads appear about the latter end of No- 
vember, generally on the 25th, which from that fact is 
known as the Vula i Balolo levu, or great Balolo month ; 
and the natives of the coast are particularly busy in 
catching and forwarding the delicacy of the season to 
friends residing in places deprived of it,—presents all 
the more appreciated as a whole year must elapse be- 
fore the same boon can again be conferred. 
In a letter dated Levuka, Fiji, December 6th, 1861, 
and addressed to her friends, an English lady gives the 
following account :—“ In November we all went for a 
few days to Wakaya, about ten miles east-north-east 
from Ovalau, in order to see the Balolos, which rise out 
of the reefs just before daylight, first in small numbers, 
but about sunrise in such masses that the sea looks 
more solid than liquid. As they were to appear on the 
morning of the 25th, we retired to rest at an early hour 
the night before, and rose with the moon, about one 
o'clock in the morning. An hour’s pull in the whale 
boat brought us to the very spot they were to come. 
We found several natives already collected there in 
boats and canoes, all anxiously looking out who should 
get the first. This they discovered by sitting with their 
hands in the water as the canoe was gently paddled about. 
Presently there was great shouting,—nets were put out, 
the excitement commenced. At first our nets did very 
well, but soon the Balolos became too numerous for 
them to be of any use, and they were caught by the 
hand and thrown into the baskets with which the boats 
were filled. We placed a white handkerchief about 
