VOYAGE FOR THE DISCOVERY OF SOUTHERN LANDS.

thefe, in lhort, it effects whatever manoeuvre it needs. What is ftill more admirable inthe heroes, light being decompofed by the efFedt of its movements, equally rapid asvarious, its longitudinal ribs become as many living prifms, and envelope the animallike eight or ten rainbows, fo animated, and fo undulating, that language or the pencilmull: in vain attempt to defcribe their beauty.

What fhall I fay now of that other fpecies of zoophytes, which, fimilar to a beautifulwreath of cryftal of an azure hue, fwims on the furface of the waves, and lifts abovethem in fucceflion its diaphanous leaflets, in figure refembling thofe of ivy ! Its beau-tiful rofy feelers extend to a diftance in fearch of its prey ; it touches it, and inflantlyit is caught in the fatal net. The animal then contracts itfelf fo as to form a kind ofcircle round the food it has feized. Myriads of fuckers, comparable to long leaches,dart at the fame inftant from the leaflets I have noticed, and which, in a Hate of reft,ferve to cover and protect them. Palled but a few feconds, and the moft bulky prey isno longer to be feen. Shall I dwell on the admirable phofphorefcent property commonto the majority of animals of this clafs, but which in this manifefts itfelf in a more thanufually lively and fplendid degree, and which in the midft of darknefs gives it the Ami-litude of a garland of fire and light ?

What fhall I fay alfo of thofe Tanthines, of a purple colour, which make their wayover the furface of the waves fufpended by a white bunch of airy bladders ? Of thofenumerous legions of Salpa, of a rofy, azure, or an opal colour, which form floats ofthirty or forty leagues in extent, and fhine with fplendour in the dark ? Of thofe Me-dufae, equally phofphorefcent, which prefent fo many Angular forms in their organiza-tion, fo many delicate fhades of colour ? Of thofe Pyrofomes fhaped like an enormousfinger of a glove, which exhibit no apparent loco-motive organ, no organ of digeftion,or of reproduction even, but which cover the fea with their innumerable hofts. Thefubftance of thefe animals is brilliant in fuch a degree, during the prevalence of dark-nefs, as to aflimilate with molten iron ! Shall I here defcribe thofe charming Glauci,of an ultramarine blue, with a filver band on the back, which refemble fo many pelagiclizards ? Their gills (branchiae) ramified like handfome fhrubs, ferve them at once tofwim with and for lungs. Shall I recall to mind thofe Pneumodermes which the cele-brated M. Cuvier, to whom I fent feveral fpecimens, conceives fhould conftitute a neworder* in the clafs to which they belong, and which have the organ of refpiration on thepofterior part of the back ? Shall I fpeak of thofe Hyales, whofe cantonments are thevicinage of the Cape of Good Hope , and which, protected only by a fhell, extremelythin, fragile, light, diaphanous, and horny, yet delight in the ftormy waves of theSouthern Ocean ? One is tempted to take thefe beautiful mollufcte, on feeing themdifplay their purple fins, for fo many turtles in miniature ; and, in fa£t, it is by thatname they are cleAgnated by failors.

Shall I dwell on the difcovery of the living Spirula, which at length refolves the greatproblem of the mode of formation of thofe Angular fhells with feveral cells, which,under the names of Nummulites, Belemnites, horns of Ammon, Hippurites, lenticularftones, Turrilites, &c. are of fuch note in the hiftory of the revolutions of our planet,of which fo ftnall a number of fpecies fhould feem to have efcaped the great cataftrophesof nature, 'and the living animals pertaining to which were hitherto unknown to natu-ralifts ?

Shall I defcribe thofe azure Porpites, in the membranous fhell of which the learnedM. Cuvier fancies a recognition of the type of fome fpecies of nummulites with concen-

* Annalesdu Mufasum d’Hiftoire Naturelle, No. 2i,p. 2 .

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