92 DROPS OF WATER. 



sembling " the jewels in the breast-plate of the 

 Jewish high priest.' 3 The colour is bright green, 

 so that both form and colour contribute to the 

 beauty of the whole. The four central indivi- 

 duals are generally larger than their external com- 

 panions, and sometimes the clusters appear irre- 

 gular, from some of the individuals having arrived 

 at maturity, and become separated from the rest. 

 If they are all of the same size, the cluster is seen 

 to divide into four, each having four of the ani- 

 malcules, and these again form fresh clusters like 

 the original. I have two or three times observed 

 that one of the individuals, before disconnecting 

 itself from the rest, had divided into sixteen 

 distinct bodies, forming a perfect compound 

 mass, though the size was extremely minute. 



