Page:The aquarium - an unveiling of the wonders of the deep sea.djvu/203

156 along the branches: the plant is also taller and more ramified.

But there were indications of a breeze springing up; clouds were forming over the land, and drifting to the southward, and "cats' paws" here and there were ruffling the silvery glaze of the sea into a deep blue. We got on board, and by the time we had pulled out a couple of hundred yards or so, down came a pleasant breeze, cool and fresh, from the north-west. The willing lads quickly stepped the mast, ran up the main-sail and jib, and, giving her a flowing sheet, put her before it; while the water began to ripple off under her quarter, with that rustling sound which a boatman loves to hear.

The dredges were quickly down; and while they were gathering their various contents, I put overboard my Medusa net, to see what the surface might produce on such a sweet summer day. No Medusæ were to be obtained, except one or two small specimens of Cydippe pomiformis, a brilliant little sphere of jelly, resembling the clearest glass, rowed along by ciliary paddles, set in eight rows, like the meridians of a globe. But the net came in loaded with tiny active