A VACATION TRIP TO BRAZIL. 647 
On the surface of this current floated hundreds of beau- 
tiful “Portuguese men-of-war” (Physalia), and we saw in 
eddies on the edge of the current two or three fleets of 
several hundreds each, looking like beds of large pink 
flowers, on a smooth green lawn. They drifted thickly 
by us, their brilliant floats careening on the wave. Now 
and then they were overwhelmed in the great foam sheet 
` that broke frem the steamer’s bow; but their upset barks 
soon righted themselves, and floated away on the foaming 
waves astern. As I looked down on their airy, bubble- 
like forms, anchored deep in the green water by their 
numerous cables, how I wished I could capture one, but 
from the high deck of the steamer it was hopeless to at- 
tempt it. 
Fancy now a light bubble-like float, of a semi-transpa- 
rent membrane, blown plumply out with air, and shaped 
somewhat like an egg laid on its side, with the upper 
part flattened into a sort of a crenulated, or, to use a mil- 
liner’s term, “pinked” crest. Tint this float of a rosy hue, 
deepening it toward the crest, and color the lower part a 
warm violet, and you will have a faint idea of the beau- 
tiful float of the “Portuguese man-of-war,” one of the most 
interesting members of the class of jelly-fishes. But this 
is not all; this is really only the float or swimming sac of 
a colony of animals which hang from the lower part down 
into the water, like gelatinous cords. Agassiz tells us 
that in this colony the sack is one animal developed for 
the special purpose of sustaining the colony in the water, 
and that of the others some are constructed for one pur- 
pose and some for another; some catch the food, but it 
is, figuratively speaking, to please the palate of others, 
while what one eats goes to nourish the whole colony. 
_ Sailors will tell you that the animal is poisonous, and 
burns the hand. Every one who has been on the sea-shore - 
