146 



THE PLANT-LIKE 



their minuteness, when once recognized, it was an easy matter 

 to see that they had the physiognomy and habit, as I might say, 

 of the contractile vesicles of well-known infusorians. 



We have now noted three diagnostic features in the Infusoria 

 which we did not observe in the plant-spores ; but let us go on 

 still further with the animals for the purpose of getting a broader 

 basis of comparison ; one that will aid us in discovering the 

 nature of the differences between the developmental process, 

 from the lower to the higher ranks, of the Infusoria, and the 

 corresponding process in the sea -weeds. Here is an infuso- 



rian (fig. 88) from fresh 

 water, which, although 

 it has a pretty strong re- 

 semblance to Euglena, 

 | B heightened by the pres- 

 ence of a red eye-spot, 

 (e,} will be found, upon 

 investigation, to possess 

 some additional and de- 



Fig. 88. 



cidedly different charac- 

 ters. In the first place, 

 it has two vibrating 



lashes, (7, 7 1 ,) which differ remarkably among themselves both in 

 position and character. One of them is always carried in front 

 like a sort of proboscis, (/,) and in fact it seems to have the office 

 of such an organ, like that of the elephant, to feel and to take 

 hold of objects. I must confess that I was struck with aston- 

 ishment at the apparent intelligence with which the infusorian 

 extended and twisted and turned and felt about with this ex- 

 traordinarily muscular organ. Never did an elephant seem to 

 use his trunk with more thoughtfulness. With like control did 

 the animal also use the other lash, (I 1 ,) always keeping it turned 



Fig. 88. Heteromaslix proteiformis, nov. gen. et sp. 500 diam. A, an indi- 

 vidual fully extended ; e, the red eye-spot ; /, the anterior lash ; /l, the poste- 

 riorly trailing lash ; cZ, the group of vibrating cilia ; B, an under-side view of a 

 contracted individual ; f', the same as I ; cl l , the same as cl. Original. 



