ACALEPH2E. 
217 
'ous species. They are, of all animals, those which present the least 
^liil substance. Their bodies are little else than water, which is 
Se &vcely retained by an imperceptible organic network ; it is a trans- 
parent jelly, almost without consistence. “ It is a true sea-water jelly,” 
Reaumur, writing in 1710, “haying little colour or consistence. 
I' We take a morsel in our hands, the natural heat is sufficient to 
dissolve it into water.” 
Spallanzani could only withdraw five or six grains of the pellicle 
'd a medusa weighing fifty ounces. From certain specimens weighing 
r °m ten to twelve pounds, only six to seven pennyweights could he 
Gained of solid matter, according to Fredol. “Mr. Telfair saw an 
ta >°rmous medusa which had been abandoned on the beach at Bombay ; 
lre e days after, the animal began to putrefy. To satisfy bis curiosity 
" the neighbouring boatmen to keep an eye upon it, in order to 
the bones and cartilages belonging to the great creature, if by 
^ a Hce it l lac \ any ; but its decomposition was so rapid and complete 
ia t it left no remains, although it required nine months to dissipate 
lt entirely” 
■P loafing on the bosom of the waters, says Fredol, ‘"the medusa 
^Ues a bell, a pair of breeches, an umbrella, or, better still, a 
j 'fPing mushroom, the stool of which lias here been separated into 
e ' J ; Jes more or less divergent, sinuous, twisted, shrivelled, fringed, the 
jj/ 5 ® 8 °f the cap being delicately cut, and provided with long thread- 
^ 6 a Ppendages, which descend vertically into the water like the 
Roping branches of the weeping willow.” 
ig PP® gelatinous substance of which the body of the Medusa is formed 
a Sometimes colourless and limpid as crystal ; sometimes it is opaline, 
^ occasionally of a bright blue or pale ro§e colour. In certain species 
r e '^"Otral parts are of a lively red, blue, or violet colour, while the 
d the body is of a diaphanous hue. This diaphanous tissue, often 
^ in the finest tints, is so fragile, that wdien abandoned by the 
its ] 011 ^ le it melts and disappears without leaving a trace of 
laving existed, so to speak. 
■Neve. - 
a vino 
Nevertheless, these fragile creatures, 
these 
u ira xittgua t living soap-buhhles, 
gll g," e ^ 011 g voyages on the surface of the sea. Whilst the sun s rays 
in] ^ ‘Pupate and even annihilate its vaporous substance on some 
e u t° Spita1:ile Pcm-ii. they abandon themselves without fear during their 
1 fife to the agitated waves. The whales which haunt round the 
