62 PLANARIA FELINA. 



contrary, spontaneous division succeeds in 

 animals, a thousand, nay, a million times 

 exceeding the inhabitants of infusions in 

 size ; of which the parts and proportions 

 being visible to the naked eye, contribute 

 to the dissipation of doubts, and display in 

 detail the progress of regeneration. Be- 

 sides, the severed portion, condemned to 

 quiescence, and destitute of alimentary or- 

 gans, survives independent of the mutilated 

 trunk, until their evolution follows by the 

 regular and gradual operation of nature. 



Such remarkable phenomena, incessantly 

 offered to my notice, afforded ample scope 

 for speculation. If these animals, I began 

 to reflect, be endowed with so powerful a 

 reproductive principle, it is not impossible 

 that some singular and interesting monstro- 

 sities may be obtained by artificial means ; 

 and my confidence in its practicability was 

 corroborated, by having occasionally found 

 deviations from the ordinary figure in the 

 natural state. One of those was truly won- 

 derful. The planaria itself, in relation to 



