186 THE CLIO BOREALIS ON THE COAST OP MAINE. 



in abundance, and with them a few Clios near the end of the wharf at House 

 Island in Portland Harbor. On May 2d, the Clios were abundant, coming in 

 apparently with the high spring tides, and from that time they continued to be- 

 come more and more numerous, until finally the water appeared to be alive 

 with them. After May 7th, they began to decrease and to drop off with the 

 low tides, and entirely disappeared with the approach of the rainy weather, 

 so that in few days more not one could be obtained. 



The novelty of this sudden appearance and disappearance of an animal re- 

 garded and described as a denizen of the Artie seas, its inherent beauty, grace- 

 ful, and seemingly joyous movements, at once excited a lively interest on the 

 part of the members present, none of whom had before had an opportunity of 

 seeing it. 



Questions arose as to the causes of its appearance at this time, and the fre- 

 quency of its visits to these waters, and the most southern limit of its present 

 and past migrations 1 These are questions which do not admit of an entirely 

 satisfactory conclusion, but it was generally conceded that this visitation was 

 in some way connected with the Arctic character of the winter through which 

 we had just passed, it having been one of unusual severity, not once yielding 

 to a thaw. 



i Upon examination, no allusion is made to this animal in Gould's Invertebrata 

 of Massachusetts, nor in any of the volumes of the Journal or Proceedings of 

 the Boston Society of Natural History, these publications dating back to 1841 ; 

 and no mention is made of it in the publications of the Philadelphia Academy of 

 Nat. Sciences. The name occurs in Stimpson's Check list of the shells of North 

 America, and is mentioned by Packard, in his list of animals, dredged off 

 Southern Labrador, as being quite abundant in that region. The only approach 

 to an answer to the above questions that could be obtained from any source 

 within our reach, was derived from the New York Reports. De Kay, there 

 gives a brief description of the animal and a figure which are generally correct. 

 He says that " this species occurs in almost incredible numbers it the Northern 

 Atlantic, where it forms the ordinary food of whales. It has been observed 

 occasionally in great numbers, in our bays. In April, 1833, they were very 

 abundant and of a blood red color. After a few days they all disappeared." 



We cannot find that their presence in our waters has been noticed by any 

 one since that date, down to the time of their being discovered by Mr. Fuller, 

 nor can we learn that this visit of the Clio, was observed in any other place 

 along the coast. This would leave room for the supposition, that their visits 

 might be more frequent than the known facts would indicate, since it is 

 probable that at that season of the year, there are but few abroad watching the 

 waters with the carefulness necessary to detect the presence of the Clio. 

 Certain it is, however, that for a series of years, no such event has occurred, or 

 it would have been announced by Mr. Fuller, who at all times and seasons has 

 scanned the waters with a keen and critical eye in search of every thing 



