186 HISTORY OP BRITISH ZOOPHYTES. 



by the ] st of April the head part had got a new body, seemed 

 strong and vigorous, and in no respect differed from other 

 polypes of its kind. About the same time the tail part be- 

 gan to show little tentacula, and a young polype began to 

 -spring from the middle of its body. Slimy matter, however, 

 enveloping the part where the new head was beginning to 

 be formed, he beheaded it a second time. On the 7th of 

 April, new tentacula were observed round the part from 

 which a head had twice been cut, and there were three 

 young ones in a thriving state on different parts of the body. 

 On the 8th of April the tentacula were so much grown, that 

 they could lay hold of a worm, which the polype greedily 

 devoured ; and on the 9th of April, as it seemed now com- 

 plete, he ceased to observe it and its young family. He 

 afterwards divided a polype into four parts, and these in a 

 few days were transformed into four polypes. He likewise 

 cut in two some of the young ones before they were sepa- 

 rated from the old, and the part that remained attached 

 soon recovered what it had lost, and the amputated part 

 grew into a perfect polype. 



His next experiment was to cut a polype lengthways into 

 two equal parts, both as to the portion of the body, and the 

 number of tentacula, which each part retained. Being 



