112 



LIFE, IN ITS LOA ER FORMS. 



the long body of the animal, begins to exhibit the same 

 peculiarities as the old one, though longer time be required 

 to attain perfection. Other species of the Holothuria divide 

 spontaneously through the middle into two or more parts, 

 all becoming ultimately perfect by the development of 

 new organs. The animal may even lose and regenerate 

 its organs more than once. 



The Sea-cucumbers are mostly small with us;* but in 

 the shallow seas of the tropics they attain the size of the 

 juicy vegetable after which they are named. They are 

 esteemed as delicacies by the omnivorous Chinese ; and 

 the fishing for them, with the subsequent processes of pre- 

 paring and bringing them to market, forms an important 

 branch of commercial industry in the Oriental seas. Some 

 of the species are two feet in length and seven or eight 

 inches in circumference, but others are much less. The 

 larger sort are sometimes obtained by spearing them upon 

 the rocks in shallow water ; but the ordinary mode of 

 obtaining them is by diving in from three to five fathoms, 

 and collecting them by hand : a man will bring up thus 

 eight or ten at a time. They are prepared for the market 

 by being split down one side, boiled, and pressed flat with 

 stones ; then being stretched on bamboo slips, they are 

 dried in the sun and afterwards in smoke, and packed 

 away in bags. In this state the article, now called tre- 

 pang, is put on board the junks, and is in great demand 

 in China for the composition of nutritious soups, in which 

 that singular people so much delight. The quantity of 

 this article of food annually sent to China from Macassar 



* Cucumaria frondosa, — the "King of the Sea-cucumbers," — ia occasionally- 

 taken in the Shetland seaa, a foot and upwards in length. 



