411 



Observations on Amceb^. 



By Henry W. King. 



(Bead March 16th, 1894), 



Plates XIX., XX. 



Since communicating to this Society in a former paper the habits 

 of some forms of pond life from the West Indies, opportunities 

 have occurred to me for further observations on some of the life 

 brought in the two dippings then referred to from Port Limon 

 and the Island of Colon. 



Though some species of Yorticella, Epistilis, and Mellicerta only 

 lived a brief period after arriving, other forms grew and multiplied 

 apparently as naturally in small vessels of water, when the 

 temperature on several occasions fell below freezing point, as they 

 would in their native climate and habitat, thus illustrating by their 

 insusceptibility to varying temperatures how wide may be the range 

 of the distribution of such forms. 



And the tendency of a wide distribution with all the diversified 

 influences which such would give is conducive to ever-increasing 

 diversity of living forms, of living action, ever applicable alike to 

 the most complex and most lowly. 



Among the many interesting forms of life in the before- 

 mentioned and subsequent dippings from Colon and Port Limon 

 were well-defined forms of Amoebee showing distinct habit 

 attributes, evidently acquired through widely differing influences. 



While observations of Amoeba illustrate how changeful individual 

 Amoebge are, comparisons with different forms show that specially 

 acquired attributes are observable in the different kinds; in fact, 

 all varieties appear to have differentiated a normal form and 

 normal habit, subject like all life to variations through the influence 

 of diversified surroundings. 



Amoebse, like some of the higher micro-life, are often very 

 active when first examined under the microscope, and they will 

 sometimes continue so, gliding and searching among the confervse 



JouRN. Q. M. C, Series II., No. 35. 29 



