These adaptations
of structure are full of interest. Nothing can be more admirable than
the sailing-gear of these little creatures. They have to traverse the
surface of the ocean amidst all diversities of weather. Paddles alone
would not suffice for them. They must be enabled to take advantage of
the winds. Sails, therefore, are added, and the mightiest agents in
nature are commissioned to speed the little voyagers on their way.
We have already mentioned that some of the jelly-fishes possess the
power of stinging. Only a few of the larger species, however, seem to
be thus endowed; and the name sea-nettle is by no means applicable to
the class as a whole. The poisonous fluid which produces the
irritating effect on the skin, and no doubt paralyses the creatures
upon which the jelly-fish feeds, is secreted by the arms. By means of
its poison-bearing tentacles, the soft, gelatinous medusa is more than
a match for the armed crustacean and the scale-clad fish. We take from
Professor Forbes the following graphic description of one of the
stinging species:--'The _Cyanaea capillata_ of our seas is a most
formidable creature, and the terror of tender-skinned bathers.
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