THE INDIAN OCEAN. 363 
tentacles, among which are some of a great length, 
and of a crimson and purple hue. The tentacles 
have the faculty of severely stinging the hand that 
touches them, though ever so slightly; and it is 
probable that this power is in some way connected 
with the sustenance of the animal, as minute fishes 
are frequently found in a benumbed state attached 
to these processes. The little creature, as it floats 
upon the broad billows, bears a very striking resem- 
blance to a little ship, of which the bladder is the 
hull, and the puckered membrane the sail; and as 
the edge of the sail is a beautiful pink hue, and the 
lower part of the hull deep blue, a fleet of them, 
floating and rolling in a calm upon the long glassy 
swell of the sea, presents a scene of striking novelty 
and elegance. 
Another creature much resembling this in appear- 
ance is found in the same regions in equal numbers. 
It is called by sailors the Sallee-man ( Velella mutica); 
and consists of an internal cartilage, of a semi-pel- 
lucid white hue, enclosed in soft parts, of a purplish 
green. A broad oval base floats on the water, across 
which runs obliquely an arched crest or sail: be- 
neath are placed the brown viscera, covered with 
a thick mat of colourless tubular papille: the edge 
of the oval base is fringed with slender blue tentacles. 
No part of this animal seems to have the power of 
stinging, so formidable in the preceding. 
It will be remembered, that in the description 
of the Arctic Seas, a little animal (Cho borealis) was 
mentioned as forming a large portion of the food 
of the whale. Its place is supplied in the Pacific 
