88 DROPS OF WATER. 



an eye, and is of a bright green colour : it moves 

 briskly, but springs back when obstructed. Tra- 

 chelomonas volvocina (Drop II. fig. 3) is distin- 

 guished by the lorica being spherical, and the 

 proboscis very long and slender ; it is green or 

 brown, but has a red ring on the circumference, 

 which is seen whichever way it turns. Another, 

 T. cylindrica, is of a beautiful green, with a 

 purple circle and red eye. 



The family Volvocina contains many very 

 wonderful genera and species, equalled by none 

 among these minute creatures. They are of a 

 compound form, and live as it were in masses. 

 This is caused by their method of self- division, 

 which takes place, not by the body simply 

 dividing into two, but into many parts, and each 



