312 
least, was of a type, so far as he was aware, in which such had 
not been noticed by other observers. This is, of course, in itself— 
putting the molecular or “ Brownian” motion altogether aside— 
no new phenomenon, inasmuch as we have it presented by Oscil- 
latoriaceous forms, diatoms, Bacteria, &c. But of the two orga- 
nisms he would, on the present occasion, present for exhibition to 
the Club (side by side upon the same slide, so as to detain the 
meeting as briefly as possible), one, at least, as mentioned, had 
not, he thought, attracted the notice of observers, if at all, cer- 
tainly not in this regard—that is, as evingng active sponta- 
neous motion without the least appearance of cilia or flagella, or, 
indeed, any other motory organs. Morphologically viewed, the 
first to which he would draw attention was a species of the algal 
genus Ceelospherium (Nag.). As is characteristic of that genus, 
the cells here are combined into a peripheral stratum around a 
globular or more or less irregularly lobed mucous mass; in this 
form the cells, which are closely apposed, are minute, reddish, 
each with a bluish envelope or margin. They are considerably 
more minute than in Cclospherium Ehrenbergianum (Nag.), 
being about 55455 of an inch in’ diameter, that of the families, 
of course, very variable. But the remarkable speciality, however, 
in the present form is the active-movements executed by the 
colony or family as a whole. Probably the smaller ones evinced 
this phenomenon more vividly than the larger, but this might be 
to a great extent due to the fact that such were less pressed upon 
by the covering-glass, &c., and thus more free to move. Their 
action consists in a vigorous revolution, now this way, now that, 
combined with a more or less rapid onward motion of the whole— 
each rotating, spinning on its axis, rolling onwards, returning, a 
while quiescent, then again revolving and moving onwards, back- 
wards, and forwards, in a most indeterminate manner; in the 
examples occasionally presenting themselves of a lobed or indefi- 
nite figure the motion is more or less jerky and eccentric. Thus, 
the movements executed are in the main comparable to those of 
Volvox globator, but very greatly more rapid, though fitful. The 
largest family ever seen was not a quarter the diameter of a 
Volvox, whilst some families were not more than 3,1,, of an inch 
across. Nevertheless, not any cilia or evidence of cilia could be 
as yet detected. Can this alga be known to other observers else- 
where? Mr. Archer could not by any means think it a “ Volvo- 
cine ;”’ perhaps opportunity might occur to give this curious form 
more due study, and to that it must be left. 
The other organism seemingly moving without locomotive 
organs Mr. Archer was inclined to suspect to be a motile stage 
of a very common production, whose identity was unknown to 
him, consisting of an elliptic seed-like body, of smooth exterior, 
ordinarily very densely filled with shiny, opaque, greyish or some- 
what brownish “ starchy”’ looking granules; the outer “wall” is 
very smooth, delicate, pellucid, of a bluish tinge. This organism, 
be it what it may, as yet baffled attempts, so far as he could dis- 
