festooned, and scalloped disk, often a full foot or
more across, it flaps its way through the yielding waters, and drags
after it a long train of ribbon-like arms, and seemingly interminable
tails, marking its course when its body is far away from us. Once
tangled in its trailing "hair," the unfortunate who has recklessly
ventured across the graceful monster's path too soon writhes in
prickly torture. Every struggle but binds the poisonous threads more
firmly round his body, and then there is no escape; for when the
winder of the fatal net finds his course impeded by the terrified
human wrestling in its coils, he, seeking no contest with the mightier
biped, casts loose his envenomed arms, and swims away. The amputated
weapons severed from their parent body vent vengeance on the cause of
their destruction, and sting as fiercely as if their original
proprietor itself gave the word of attack.'

We now approach the most extraordinary portion of the history of
these creatures. Recent investigations have brought to light the most
interesting facts respecting their reproduction and development. It is
now known that the young jelly-fish passes through a series of
transformations before reaching its perfect state.

At certain seasons, eggs are produced within the body of the parent in
appropriate ovaries, where they are retained for a time. They are then
transferred to a kind of marsupial pouch, analogous to that of the
kangaroo, where their development proceeds. After passing through
certain changes here, the egg issues from the maternal pouch as an
oval body, clothed with cilia--an animalcule in external aspect, and
as unlike its parent as can well be imagined. For awhile the little
creature dances freely through the water, and leads a gay, roving
life; but at last it prepares to 'settle;' selects a fitting locality;
applies one extremity of its body to the surface of stone or weed, and
becomes attached. And now another change passes over it. The cilia, no
longer needed, disappear. A mouth is developed at the upper extremity
of the body, furnished with a number of arms. Gradually this number
increases, and the jelly-fish now appears in the disguise of a polype,
which feeds voraciously on the members of the class from which it has
itself so lately emerged. At this point there is a halt. The medusa
remains in its polype state for some months. At the expiration of this
term, a strange alteration in its appearance begins to take