INFUSORIA. 393- 



claret-bottle or an oil-flask ; the muzzle being broadly 

 truncate or even indented. 



Its motion is rapid ; a swift gliding in the direction 

 of its long axis : it turns continually on the same axis, 

 which gives a waving irregularity to its course, and has 

 a pretty effect from the continual crossing of the flutings 

 in the revolving. This specimen is about T ^ of an 

 inch in length, including the tail. 



Euglena deses is much larger, being about ~jj of an 

 inch in length, though the tail is very short. It has a 

 thick body, with a round, blunt head ; it tapers suddenly 

 to the tail. Its colour is bright green with a red eye; 

 but the presence of an infinite number of irregular ob- 

 long granules and lines with several globular vesicles, 

 gives an opacity and a blackness to its appearance. In 

 its manners it is sluggish ; it never swims or glides 

 gracefully and swiftly among its playful companions, 

 but contents itself with twining slowly among the downy 

 stems and filaments of the water-plants, or crawls upon 

 the surface of the live-box. It does not appear to change 

 its form, otherwise than its soft and flexible body neces- 

 sitates, as it twines about. 



But enough of the Euglence. For I have just caught 

 sight of a much more curious creature, the Swan Ani- 

 malcule (Trachelocerca olor). It is reposing on one of 

 the leaves of the MyriophyMum, its long and flexible 

 neck lengthening and contracting at pleasure, the tip 

 thrown about in quick jerks in every direction, some- 

 what like a caterpillar when it touches several points 

 impatiently with its head. 



If we admire the graceful sailing of a swan upon a 

 lake, the swelling of its rounded bosom, the elegant 

 curves of its long neck, we shall be struck with the form 

 and motion of this animal. The form has much resem- 

 blance to that of a swan, or still more to that of a snake- 

 bird (PloHut) ; the body, swelling in the middle, tapers 



