120 



RECREATION 



results and heard of the simple remedy 

 said, "It would be interesting to know 

 just what chemical or other changes 

 took place there, to instantly arrest all 

 pain from so serious an inflammation." 

 What the unhappy victim would un- 



PORTUGUESE MAN-O'-WAR 



dergo who was unfortunate enough to 

 swim, or dive, without a bathing suit 

 on, into a school of large jelly-fish, I do 

 not know, but I think it would take 

 careful hospital treatment to bring him 

 around again. 



The largest and most celebrated of 

 these terrors of the sea is the Portu- 

 guese man-of-war. 



This beautiful but most formidable 

 species is found in all tropical seas, and 

 never fails to attract the attention of 

 anyone who observes it for the first 

 time, as it is brilliantly colored in blue, 

 yellow and pink. 



The general shape of these remark- 

 able creatures is a bubble-like envelope 

 filled with air, upon which is a crest, 

 and from the under part of which hang 

 a number of long tentacles. 



These tentacles are formidably armed 

 with a venomous secretion containing 

 microscopic, stinging cells or nemato- 

 cysts, (from two Greek words, mean- 

 ing thread and bag-cell.) The common 

 jelly-fish, or sea-nettles, have these cells 

 also, but those of the Portuguese man- 

 of-war are much more formidable and 

 somewhat different in general shape. 

 The office and structure of these cells, 

 or nematocysts, is very peculiar and in- 

 teresting. 



' In structure a nematocyst is a little 

 cell or capsule, one end of which is 

 drawn out into' a long tube. This 

 thread-like tube is inverted into the 

 body of the cell as a glove finger may 

 be pushed backwards into the glove 

 palm. Connected with the cell is a hair- 



A JELLY FISH 



like structure called the "cuidocil," and 

 when this is touched the nematocyst 

 "explodes," or, in other words, the little 

 thread is forced out, as you would blow 

 out an inverted glove finger from the 

 hand cavity. The fluid contents of the 

 cell is carried out with it, which in its 



