Daily Kennebec journal. [microfilm reel] (Augusta, Me.) 1870-1975, 1872-01-11
LETTER FROM PROF. AGASSIz.

MY DEAR PROFESSOR: For several days
after we left Boston, l was greatly troubled
by sense of general weakness, so much
so that more than once thought had un-
dertaken more than | had strength for
But as soon as we got into warmer lati-
tudes, felt better, and now am actually
improving beyond my condition at the
| start. AS soon as we reached the Gulf
Stream we began work Indeed, Pour.
tales organized party to study the tenn
peratures as soon as we passed Gay Head,
and he will himself report his results to
you. which are quite interesting. Ny at
tention was entirely turned to the Gulf
weed and its inhabitants, of which we
made extensive collection.
Our observations favor the view of those
who believe that the floating weed is de-
rived from plants torn from the rocks up-
on which sargassum naturally grows. I
made very simple experiment, which
seems to me to settle the matter. Every
branch of the sea-weed which is deprived
OF It's float, at once sinks to the bottom
OF the water, and these floats are not like
ly to be the first parts developed from the
spores. Moreover, after examining
very large quantity of the weed, can say
that have not seen a branch, however
small, which did not exhibit distinct marks
OF having been torn from solid attach
ment. You may hardly feel an interest in
my geological observations but am sure
you will be pleased to learn that we
had the best opportunity of carefully ex-
amining most of the animals known to in
habit the Gulf weed, and some which /
did not know to occur among them. How
ever. the most interesting discovery of the
voyage thus far is the finding OF nest
built by a fish, floating on the broad ocean
with its live freight. On the 18th of the
month. Mr.. Mansfield, one Of the officers
OF the Hassler, brought me ball OF Gulf
weed which he had just picked up, and
which excited my curiosity to the utmost
1t was round mass of sargassum aboutthe
size of two flats, rolled up together The
whole consisted to all appearances of moth
ing but Gulf weed, the branches and leaves
of which were, however, evidently knit
together, and not merely balled into
roundish mass; for, though some of the
leaves and branches hung loose from the
rest, it became at once visible that the bulk
of the ball was held together by threads
trending in every direction. among the
seaweeds, as if couple of handfulls OF
branches of sargassum had been rolled up
together with elastic threads trending in
u
bowl of water, it became apparent that
this mass of sea.weeds was nest, the
central part of which was more closely
bound up together in the form of ball,
with several loose branches extending in
various directions, by which the whole
was kept floating.
A more careful examination very soon
revealed the fact that the elastic threads
which hold the Gulf weed together were
beaded at intervals, sometimes two or
three beads being close together, or
bunch of them hanging from the same
cluster of threads, OF they were more
rarely scattered at greater distance one
from the other Nowhere was there much
regularity observable in the distribution of
the beads, and they were found scattered
throughout the whole ball of sea weeds
pretty uniformly. The beads themselves
were about the size of an ordinary pins
head. We had. no doubt, nest before
Us, Of the most curious kind; full of eggs
too; the eggs scattered throughout the
mass of the nest and not placed together
in a cavity OF the whole structure. What
animal could have built this singular nest,
was the next question. 1t did not take
much time to ascertain the class of the
animal kingdom to which it belongs. A
common pocket lens at once revealed two
large eyes upon the side of the head and
a tale bent over the back of the body, as
the embryo uniformly appears in ordinary
fishes shortly before the period of hatch.
ing. The many empty egg eases observed
in the nest gave promise of an early OPP
portunity of seeing some embryoS freeing
themselves from their envelope. Mean
while, number of these eggs with live
embryos We're cut out Of the nest ana
placed in separate glass jars to multiply
the chances of preserving them, while
the nest as a whole was secured in alco-
hol, as memorial of our unexpected
discovery. The next day found two
embryos in one Of my glass jars; they oc-
casionally moved in Jerks, and then rested
for long while motionless upon the bot
tom of the jar. On the third day had
over dozen of these young fishes in my
rack, the Oldest of which began to b,
more active, and promise to afford furthc
) opportunities for study.
l Ineed not relate in detail the eyidenc'