82 THE FISSIGEMMATION OF MYRIANIDA. 



third (4) sixteen ; the fourth (3) eighteen ; the fifth (2) twenty- 

 three ; and the sixth (1) and last one, thirty. The process of the 

 formation of these successive individuals is described as a sort 

 of intercalation of joints; thus the joints of the first-formed (1) 

 young are developed between the last joint of the old stock and 

 the ring before it; then the next oldest, or second young (2), is 

 formed by the successive appearance of a series of joints between 

 the head of the first young and what was the next to the last 

 joint of the parent ; the third originates in the same way between 

 the second young and the parent, and so the fourth, fifth, and 

 sixth; and as each of the successively formed individuals con- 

 tinues to add new rings to its own body, the oldest has of course 

 the greatest number, and very naturally is the first one to as- 

 sume an independent life, whilst the others follow, according to 

 their age, until all are separated. 



We have thus a natural cutting apart of a set of organs, such 

 as the intestine, the blood-vessels, and the nervous system, which, 

 in some respects, are of a more highly developed character than 

 those of Insects; and yet there was a time when it was thought 

 to be nothing short of a miracle that even such a simple sac-like 

 animal as Hydra could multiply itself by a partition of its 

 single body. We would seem to be impelled here, too, to look 

 upon these several resultants of Myrianida as more truly indi- 

 vidualistic than those of the Scyphostoma (p. 67), because the 

 organization of the former is apparently of a more highly de- 

 veloped and complete character than that of the latter. In both 

 cases the newly developed individuals are the egg-bearing ones, 

 whereas the original stock is sterile. 



In the Tape-worms (fig. 44), the egg-bearing joints (a to g) 

 separate from the old stock by hundreds, but each joint acts 

 as an individual, and enjoys an independent existence ; yet 

 of such a questionable character, however, that one would 

 almost seem to sacrifice his common sense were he to assert 

 that these single joints are each a self-sustaining, self-con- 

 scious being. The most that we can say is, that while the 



