A STUDY OF LOWER LIFE. 



457 



organism, plant, or animal — but of utilizing the 

 results of mutilation in the multiplication of its 

 race. But, as a final feature in the hydra's his- 

 tory, we must allude to one point which perhaps 

 we should deem as even of a more extraordinary 

 kind than the traits of character just described; 

 this point being exemplified by certain experi- 

 ments of Tremblcy, in which he actually suc- 

 ceeded in turning these polyps inside out, with- 

 out in the slightest degree interfering with their 

 ultimate vitality. In 1742 Trembley first suc- 

 ceeded in his endeavor to place the polyp hors 

 de combat, and his ruse or plan of procedure was 

 of so ingenious a nature that we may again let 

 him speak for himself. He tells us that he com- 

 menced operations "by giving a worm to the 

 polyp, and put it, when the stomach was well 

 filled, into a little water, which filled the hollow 

 of my left hand. I pressed it afterward with a 

 gentle pinch toward the posterior extremities. In 

 this manner I pressed the worm which was in the 

 stomach against the mouth of the polyp, forcing 

 it to open — continuing the pinching pressure un- 

 til the worm was partly pressed out of the mouth. 

 When the polyp was in this state I conducted it 

 gently out of the water, without damaging it, and 

 placed it upon the edge of my hand, which was 

 simply moistened in order that the polyp should 

 not stick to it. I forced it to contract itself 

 more and more, and, in doing so, assisted in en- 

 larging the mouth and stomach. I now took 

 in my right hand a thick and pointless boar's 

 bristle, which I held as a lancet is held in bleed- 

 ing. I approached its thicker end to the posterior 

 extremity of the polyp, which I pressed until it en- 

 tered the stomach, which it does the more easily 

 since it is empty at this place and much enlarged. 

 I continued to advance the bristle, and in pro- 

 portion as it advanced the polyp became more 

 and more inverted. When it came to the worm, 

 by which the mouth is kept open on one side, 

 and the posterior part of the polyp is passed 

 through the mouth, the creature is thus turned 

 completely inside out ; the exterior superficies of 

 the polyp has become the interior." 



The operation thus described was occasion- 

 ally frustrated in a manner by the hydra? ; since, 

 in less than an hour, Trembley observed some 

 specimens to succeed in restoring themselves to 

 their natural position. This observer, however, 

 prevented the latter result in one or two in- 

 stances by spitting the polyp, a needle being 

 passed through the body close under the mouth ; 

 and when thus treated, the animal, with wisdom 

 which humanity might sometimes advantageous- 



ly imitate, accommodated itself without murmur 

 to the exigencies of its position. Trembley ap- 

 pears to have taken the state of the appetite of 

 his polyps as a very natural and rational test of 

 their state of health after being operated upon ; 

 since he remarks that a hydra which had been 

 turned inside out ate "a small worm two days 

 after the operation ; " while to conclude, he re- 

 marks that "the same polyp may be succes- 

 sively inverted, cut in sections, and turned back 

 again, without being seriously injured." After the 

 recital of these experiments — to which, seeing 

 that the hydra possesses no traces of a nervous 

 system, the most tender-hearted anti-vivisection- 

 ist could offer no objection — we may well ques- 

 tion whether the hydra of zoology is not after all 

 a more wonderful animal than its mythical and 

 fabulous namesake. 



The attentive consideration of these features 

 in our polyp's biography naturally suggests some 

 remarks on the nature of the beings which pos- 

 sess powers so wondrous of resisting mutilation 

 and of recovering from serious injury. In virtue 

 of what description or amount of vitality, it may 

 be asked, or on what supposition can we account 

 for the amazing reparative powers of the hydra? 

 The answer to the question may be prefaced by 

 the remark that the hydra are not singular in 

 respect of their fertility under apparently disad- 

 vantageous circumstances. As already remarked, 

 and as the writer can testify from experiment, 

 the sea-anemones may be subjected to the ordeal 

 of trial by slicing and chopping with favorable 

 results, as far as the artificial increase of the 

 race is concerned. But animals occupying a 

 much higher place in the scale of animal society 

 may also exhibit reparative powers of a singular 

 and extensive kind. A starfish, for example, 

 need not in the slightest degree be disconcerted 

 by the loss of its rays, for these astronomical 

 beings may be met with on the sea-beach in the 

 condition of grim old warriors who have left por- 

 tions of their organization on numerous battle- 

 fields, and possessing, it may be, but a single in- 

 tact ray ; the other four rays having most likely 

 served voracious codfishes as dainty if some- 

 what tough morsels. Or, again, the crabs and 

 lobsters may be cited as examples of animals to 

 whom the loss of a limb, less or more, makes 

 but little difference. Indeed, the lobsters seem 

 to part with even the largest of their members 

 on very slight provocation ; for a sudden noise, 

 such as the report of cannon, has been known to 

 serve as the exciting cause of dismemberment. 

 Or, lastly, to select animals of a higher grade 



