618 Original Articles. [ Oct., 
in the case of the Gorgonide, Aleyonide, and Asterids. I soon collected 
an enormous quantity of ova, but not one of them survived. I began 
to despair, attributing these protracted failures to the heat, when at 
length, in the month of September, after the temperature had some- 
what fallen, I obtained an abundance of lively young ones, and was 
able at once to follow their development. 
Wie. 1. 
a, Formation of the vermiform larva of coral. b, Larvae, or embryos of natural size. ce, d. The 
same, magnified. e. Disc resulting from the metamorphosis of the worms. jf. Young polype, with 
tentacles already provided with processes. 
The ova of coral, as we shall soon see, are at first spherical and 
naked ; as they become developed, they increase in length, and are 
furnished with a well-marked central cavity, communicating with the 
surrounding fluid by an opening which later on becomes the oral 
aperture. 
When they emerge from the cavity in which they have commenced 
their transformation, they have acquired a covering of vibratile cilia 
(Fig. 1, c, d), and they then completely resemble white worms. They 
swim with the mouth directed backward, while their larger extremity, 
or base, looks forward. They have also a tendency to aggregate in 
clusters, and subsequently incline to adhere to the walls of the glasses, 
