Vibrionia.] the infusoria, 137 



organs of plants, are called by their discoverer, Dr. linger, 

 of Gratz, spermatic animalcules. That distinguished 

 botanist has described them in detail in the Regensburyer 

 Botan. Fictung. Flora, 1834 ; and also in the 18th vol. of 

 the Nova Acta Natures cur. Bonn, 1838. As a condensed 

 view of this subject is given by Dr. Meyen in the Jahres- 

 herlcht (a work, the like of which England does not 

 possess), for 1838, I shall here insert the translation T 

 have had made, with the drawings Dr. Unger kindly sent 

 me for this work : — 



"The spermatic animalcules in sphagnum consist, 

 according to the earlier observations of Unger, of a thick 

 body, and a thin filiform tail; in motion, this tail being 

 anterior, he holds it analogous to the proboscis of many of 

 the Infusoria. No true active motion of the body itself 

 has been observed by Unger ; but he distinguishes between 

 the mere locomotive and rotatory movements of the whole 

 animalcule. The simplest motion takes place in a spiral 

 direction ; and, if the proboscis is contracted, the move- 

 ment is simply rotatory. During locomotion of the crea- 

 ture, which ensues in a spiral direction, Unger saw from 

 one to three revolutions of the body in a second; and 

 during rotation, he noticed the point of the proboscis to 

 be in a continual state of tremor. Unger endeavours to 

 shew that the spermatic animalcules of the mosses are 

 analogous to the spermatic animalcules of animal organisms, 

 although we find certain things in the former not seen in 

 the latter, and which may somewhat embarrass their classi- 

 fication, the chief of which are the steadiness of the 

 spiral direction of the proboscis, and their manner of 

 movement. Lately, Unger has found spermatic animal- 



