BARBADOS-ANTIGUA EXPEDITION 81 
but black pedicellarie, forming very distinct black meridional 
zones. The white form is less common than the other, and both 
are recognized by the natives, who consider them different 
‘‘kinds’’ of sea-eggs. The spines are short, smooth and com- 
paratively blunt, but the fishermen say that they are more pois- 
onous than those of the ‘‘black sea-egg,’’ or Diadema, although 
they penetrate much less easily than the latter. 
This urchin is common in many places along the coast. We 
found it quite abundant near Pelican Island on the sandy bot- 
tom, and in 1918 I found them very numerous off the Crane 
Hotel and Lord’s Castle on the east coast. Enormous quanti- 
ties are taken for food, and so great is the demand that the 
Colonial Government has instituted a closed season for them. 
This does not deter the native from taking them at all times; 
although they are not served at hotels during the closed season, 
which is im the summer months. 
The gonads, or ovaries, are the part eaten, and my divers 
would come up with an armful, then sit in the boat in a state of 
nature, crack open the test, skilfully scoop out the other viscera, 
leaving the orange-colored ovaries im situ, and removing all 
five of them with a single scoop of the hand, plump the whole 
mass into their capacious mouths with immense satisfaction. 
These ovaries really appear appetizing as they lie in the white 
shell, and are much less repellant than live oysters, which are 
esteemed by civilized man. As served on the hotel table, the 
sea-egg is a favorite dish in Barbados, and this is the only place 
where I have seen it used as a regular article of diet on this 
side of the Atlantic. At Naples, Italy, an allied species is used 
as food by the common people, although I never saw it served 
at hotels there. 
We were asked to investigate the sea-egg at Barbados with a 
view to suggesting the best means of protecting it from exter- 
mination, which seemed to be greatly feared. Dr. Job found that 
the ovaries were just becoming mature in May. He believes 
that the small fry of fish consume great quantities of the larve 
and that the best way to protect the sea-eggs would be to intro- 
duce hatcheries similar to those used in the lobster hatcheries 
conducted by the United States Bureau of Fisheries. Possibly 
an area could be enclosed in fine wire mesh, in which a number 
