I. ANIMALCULA OF INFUSIOng. 11.5,^ 



apparent ftrong adhefion. Each having attahieff 

 the full fize, a faint contraction appears, which 

 is the origin of two pellets fimilar to the firfl, 

 that in their turn feparate. Thus do the animals 

 propagate (i). 



Groupes of different round corpufcula are oftea 

 feen in infufions of vegetable fubftanees. Some- 

 times the group confifts of four diftin6l cor- 

 pufcles ; fometimes of five or more : and the cor- 

 pufcles are commonly different, according to the 

 difference of the groupes. Fig. 8. N. pi. i. It 

 cannot be denied thefe groupes are real infufion 

 animalcula : they poifefs every characi^riflic ; but 

 how are they reproduced ? One corpufcle is de- 

 tached after another from the duller, which is at 

 laft divided into as many portions as there were 

 Gompofing animalcula; and thefe begin to tra^- 

 verfe the infufion with much greater velocity 

 than the refpeftive groupes to which they belong- 

 ed. It might be objeded, that I am dating con? 

 traditions, and that the groupes are perhaps the 

 cafual or intentional cluftering of animalcula, 

 which feparate in a given time, and thus occa- 

 fion thefe apparent divifions. I had recourfe 

 to a decifive experiment, ifolating fome animal- 

 cula in a v/atch-glafs the moment they feparated 

 from the duller. When the fohtary ones had 

 acq^uired the fize of their original groupes, fur- 

 rows 



(i) Monas uva, MuUer, An. Inf,~T, 



