REPKODUCTION IN C0PRINU3 RADIATUS. 59 



goes on, a single tarn of a spiz'al makes itself visible, and the 

 bodies whirl round with great rapidity. At intervals the motion 

 entirely ceases, and then, after a short lapse of time, the gyration 

 is again continued. 



Jud.'j'ing from the presence of the eddy round these bodies whilst 

 whirling (e e, PI. 58) they are possibly provided with cilia, but 

 from the extreme minuteness of the bodies themselves I have not 

 been able to satisfactorily demonstrate their presence. The whirling 

 of the spermatozoids is sometimes so strong that when they attach 

 themselves to the spores they twist them round after the manner 

 of the revolving oosphere in Fucus. 



When the cells of the old parent fungus collapse and disappear 

 in the water, their place is in less than two hours occupied by 

 innumerable quantities ot bacteria, vibriones and monads, which 

 belong to the infusoria. In these two hours every cell of the 

 pileus has generally vanished. Wliere these infusoria come from, 

 or how they so speedily come into being, is difficult to say. They 

 may possibly be present in a latent state in the juices of the 

 fungus, but I have invariably found, when a single specimen of C. 

 racUatus has been placed on a slide under a covering glass with a 

 drop of water, and this, again, under a propagating glass, that as 

 the millions of fungus cells quickly disappear, so millions of simple 

 infusoria just as quickly come into being. It seems almost 

 reasonable to believe that the fungus cells themselves become 

 suddenly transformed^ and reappear as simple infusoria; the 

 change would not be quicker or more remarkable than the rapid 

 production of the purple black spores from the crystalline and 

 colourless basidia. 



Be this as it may I have here engraved the abundant infusoria 

 to the same scale as the cells. The tailless monads at f have a 

 rocking Brownian movement, whilst those with tails, g, propel 

 themselves rapidly about after the manner of minute tadpoles. 

 These monads are liable (without care) to be mistaken for the 

 bodies I refer to spermatozoids, from which they are, however, 

 very different. The bacteria are represented at h h, with their 

 various movements (indicated by dotted lines), either straight, zig- 

 zag, or rapidly revolving on a central axis ; when they so revolve 

 they cause a miniature vortex amongst the monads and atoms. 1 

 have commonly seen one segment move from side to side, as at j, 

 whilst the other segment remained quiescent. I have also seen 

 them bud from the centre, and occasionally they occur with three 

 limbs i)istead of two, radiating from the central axis. The vibriones 

 are like vegetable screws, and are shown at k. The spores and 

 infusoria neither collapse nor burst in boiling. As for the monads, 

 vibriones, and bacteria, it can hardly be admitted that they are 

 generated spontaneously from inorganic materials ; my experiments 

 rather point in the direction that they are only differentiated forms 

 of already living cells. However this may be, my boiling has not 



