l of its productions may be of interest to some. Many kinds of
fishes, Muraena, Diodon, Balistes, Serranus, etc. are found in the pools
among the coral blocks; the first of these, of bright colours variously
striped and spotted, resemble water-snakes, and are exceedingly active,
gliding through the interstices in the coral and hiding in its
hollows--they bite savagely at a stick presented to them, and are by no
means pleasant neighbours while wading about knee-deep and with bare arms
turning over the coral which they frequent. On a former occasion I had
been laid hold of by the thumb, and the wound was a long time in healing.
Crustacea are also numerous; blue and green Gonodactyli leap about with a
sharp clicking noise--legions of Mycteris subverrucata traverse the dry
sands at low-water--and in the shallow muddy pools, dull green Thalamitae
and Lupeae swim off rapidly, and smooth Calappae seek refuge by burrowing
under the surface.

Of mollusca, two species of olive (O. Erythrostoma and O. leucophoea)
were found on the sandy margin of the islet--several Cerithia and Subulae
(S. maculata and S. oculata) creep along the sand flats, and, with some
fine Naticae, and a Pyramidella, may be found by tracing the marks of
their long burrows. Several Strombi and Nassa coronata inhabit the
shallow sandy pools; the egg-shell and many Cypraeae occur under coral
blocks, which, when over sand, often harbour different kinds of cones--of
which the handsome C. textile is the commonest. A delicate white Lima
(Lima fragilis) is abundant here, merrily swimming away in the pool under
an upturned stone, and leaving its fringe-like tentacles adhering to the
hand when seized. Lastly, it would be improper to omit mentioning the
very fine oysters adhering to the roots of the mangroves. But these are
only a small portion of the shellfish collected here. Among radiate
animals, several Ophiurae and Ophiocomae and other Asteriadae, with two
kinds of Echinus, are also plentiful under blocks of coral (Astraea and
Maeandrina) in the pools; one of the last, remarkable for its very long,
slender, black spines, has the power of giving an exceedingly painful
puncture, if carelessly handled--for a few minutes the sensation is
similar to that caused by the sting of a wasp; of the others, a fine
Ophiura is remarkable for its great size and grass-green colour, and an
Ophiocoma for the prodigious length of its arms.

HOPE ISLANDS.

July 19th.

Six days ago