Note 6 — Front matter (continued 2)

Since the above was written, I have had an opportunity of learning some additional facts respecting the habits of the young Cyanea, which may, perhaps, apply to other Jelly-fishes also. Having occasion to visit the wharves at Provincetown at about four o'clock one morning, I was surprised to find thousands of the spring brood of Cyaneæ, hitherto supposed to pass the early period of their existence wholly in deep water, floating about near the surface. They varied in size, some being no larger than a three-cent-piece, while others were from an inch in diameter to three inches. It would seem that they make their appearance only during the earliest morning hours, for at seven o'clock, when I returned to the same spot, they had all vanished. It may be that other young Medusæ have the same habits of early rising, and that instead of coming to bask in the midday sunshine, like their elders, they prefer the cooler hours of the dawn. (A. Agassiz.)