Agassiz — Islands and Coral Reefs of the Fiji Group. 123 



We were fortunate in being at Levuka at the time of the 

 appearance of the " Bololo." On the morning of the 17th 

 of November we left the ship at 3 o'clock bound for a spot 

 named "Bololo" Point, about 3 miles south of Levuka. We 

 had scarcely reached the spot when our guide fished up a few 

 of the worms and in a few minutes the water was full of thern. 

 Canoes put off from the shore; men, women and children were 

 wading on the reef with nets and all kinds of utensils to catch 

 "Bololo." With the increase of daylight the "Bololo" be- 

 came more abundant and at one time they were so plentiful 

 that the water surrounding the boat was filled with them to 

 such an extent as to resemble thick vermicelli soup. We 

 made an excellent collection of the worms, preserving a large 

 number by different methods. We found, as we had expected, 

 that their sudden appearance was connected with spawning. 

 There were males and females full of sperm and eggs. When 

 in captivity the discharged spermatozoa rendered the water 

 milky and the masses of eggs were left as patches of dark 

 green granules on the bottom of the dish. The discharge of 

 the eggs and spermatozoa was followed by the collapse of the 

 worms, of which nothing was left but an empty skin scarcely 

 visible. The "Bololo" seems thus suddenly to disappear. 

 The males are light brown or greenish, while the females are 

 colored dark green. Their activity while swimming about is 

 something wonderful and the bursting of the animal when it 

 discharges its eggs or spermatozoa is quite a peculiar phenome- 

 non. Dr. Wood worth has made it an object to collect all the 

 material possible in regard to the " Bololo," and on our return 

 he will prepare a paper on this interesting annelid. 



I have to thank the State Department at Washington for 

 their kind offices in obtaining for us letters from the Foreign 

 Office to the Government of Fiji. Sir George O'Brien, the 

 High Commissioner for the western Pacific, gave us all possi- 

 ble facilities for visiting the different islands of the group. I 

 am also indebted to the Hon. Charles Stuart, the Colonial 

 Secretary, and to the Hon. W. L. Allardyce, assistant native 

 Commissioner, for assistance and advice. To Dr. Corney and 

 the Hon. John Berry I owe information regarding the pres- 

 ence of elevated reefs at various points I had not examined. 

 To Captain D. Calder I am greatly indebted for his interest in 

 our behalf. We were fortunate in retaining the services of 

 Captain Robert Cocks as pilot during our expedition. His 

 knowledge of the reefs is accurate and extensive. Finally I 

 have to thank Captain Thomson as well as the officers and 

 crew of the " Yarralla," who have been indefatigable in our 

 interest. 



I hope during the coming summer to prepare a fully illus- 

 trated report of this interesting cruise 



