94 ZOOPHYTES. 



observations, certain anomalies and peculiarities interposed, which I can- 

 not pretend to explain, nor can I even describe them intelligibly. 



I might offer some vague hypotheses, indeed, trusting to futurity for 

 their verification. 



But maturely reflecting on that obliteration of the old, which was 

 followed by the developement of new tentacula in fig. 20, I cannot 

 avoid conjecturing it the effect of disturbing the progress of the wonder- 

 ful alteration incident about the same season to this animal, as shall be 

 afterwards illustrated. Let us remember that fig. 20 was the upper half 

 bearing tentacula, sundered from fig. 15. Most probably by repeating the 

 experiment in the course of March some light would be thrown on the 

 subject. 



Farther, in 17 days after severing fig. 8 and fig. 19 from their re- 

 spective stumps, the former being the upper half of fig. 3, a, the latter the 

 upper half of fig. 3, b, four ribs were rising from the circumference of each, 

 and extending obtusely beyond the base. Irregular intervals separated 

 the ribs. 



A very slow horizontal motion was exhibited by fig. 20, at the period 

 of delineation. Likevsise two white fleshy corpuscula present, like fig. 25, 

 were in slow horizontal motion. I could detect no external organs in- 

 fluencing them. 



We have already traced the history of the sundered portion, fig. 18, 

 being the upper half of fig. 3, b, as there represented on March 29, down 

 to its aspect on September 29, as represented fig. 24, c. 



Following it as then regenerated yet a little longer, it appeared in 

 another week vdth the stomach completely everted, as sometimes occurs 

 to the Actinia. But in two days this was returned to its proper place, the 

 natural shape resumed, and the tentacula extended in regular order. 



Two months subsequently, however, the whole tentacula dropped off 

 in a bunch, without any obvious cause, and carrying a small portion of the 

 body along with them. Next morning, this detached part resembled a 

 small hydra crowned by irregular tentacula, remaining so for three weeks, 

 when adhesion in a watch-glass had taken place. These organs amounted 

 to twenty at least. The body thus naturally mutilated of the bunch and 



