PEITNATTTLIDA OF THE MEEGTJI ARCHIPELAGO. 



271 



Length of colony 



Length of stalk 



Length of feather 



Width of feather 



Width of rachis, ventral surface... 

 Diana, of stalk, average , 



Number of leaves , 



Height of largest leaf , 



Ventral border of largest leaf 



Base of attachment of largest leaf 



Number of rays 



Length of spines 





h 



Urn 





01 X 



1 an 

 loU 



OA K 



83 



73 



105 



J.O.3 



0/ 



1 zLH 



an 



ol 



DO 



1 A 



14 



1 A 



OA 



lo 



1 



1J 



17 



r 



41 +rud. \ 



zo +0 (topmost 

 leaves lost) 



I 39 +5 rud. 



20 



19 



24 



28-5 



21 



26 



5 



9 



6 



20 



18-20 



18-20 



0-5-1-5 



05-1 



0-3-1 



Several of the specimens are mutilated, apparently by the 

 leaves being eaten off. This occurs far more commonly in the 

 lower than in the upper half of the feather, the lower leaves 

 being in some cases stripped off almost to their bases. This may 

 perhaps point to the injury being inflicted by some animal 

 crawling on the sea-bottom. 



In three specimens of variety a and one of /3 the lower end of 

 the axis, ensheathed in a membranous covering, projects freely, 

 for a distance of 9 to 24 millim. in different forms, from an 

 aperture at the lower end of the stalk. 



Inasmuch as the axis extends to the extreme top of the 

 rachis in some of these specimens, the projection of its lower 

 end must be due to shrinking upwards of the stalk, not to 

 shifting downwards of the axis ; and has probably been caused 

 by contraction, due to the spirit in which the specimens are 

 preserved. The terminal aperture has smooth rounded lips, and 

 is formed by enlargement of the small pore which is present 

 during life. 



One specimen of variety p (fig. 5) is noteworthy, on account 

 of the formation of additional leaves on the ventral surface of 

 the rachis. Along the right side there is an incomplete longi- 

 tudinal row of single polypes, about 3-4 millim. to the inner 

 side of the bases of the leaves ; the largest polypes having a 

 length of 10 millim. 



On the left side there are, about the middle of the rachis, two 

 large, irregular leaves with well-developed zooid plates ; the 

 larger of the leaves being 27 millim. long and 12 wide at the 

 base. Other smaller leaves, or single polypes, occur distributed 



