212 THE AMERICAN MONTHLY [Au 



toplasra of the Bacillaria does in its ; and perhaps of the 

 sarcode or protoplasm of man himself. The elementary 

 thing itself is but the sarcode or protoplasm of man in 

 Radiolaria and in Bacillaria, and of Foramenifera too. Let 

 this be distinctly understood. They are one in composi- 

 tion, and though man has something else to reason with, 

 a Radiolarian or a Bacillarian or a Foramenifera has like- 

 wise intelligence to work with. Bacillaria, Radiolaria, 

 Foramenifera and man are but parts of the great fabric 

 of nature and man is no more entitled to consideration 

 than the most minute Navicula, Podocystis or Globiger- 

 ina. 



The Radiolaria form an order in the phylla of the ani- 

 mal kingdom, at least that is the way they are classed by 

 most naturalists now, but they are Protista according to 

 the ranking of Hseckel. Whatever they be, Protista or 

 animal they are low down in the scale of being. They com- 

 prise a vast number of Rhizopods, in which the sarcode 

 body consists of a central protoplasmic mass, enclosed in 

 a })orous membraneous or chitinous capsule, which at times 

 is surrounded by a thick layer of sarcode. The introcap- 

 sular sarcode contains a central or nucleus, and the pseu- 

 dopodia have the form of slender radiating filaments, 

 which rarely anastomose with one another. As a rule, the 

 protoplasmic body secretes a radially disposed skeleton 

 composed of silica, or of a silicate, or of a horny substance 

 (acanthine). A Radiolarian looks like the ivory halls the 

 Chinese make, only they are transparent and glossy, so 

 that these natural objects are more beautiful than any 

 handmade thing. Some of the balls have a spine stick- 

 ing upwards and three spines sticking downwards. While 

 the sphere itself is marked with openings which are more 

 or less hexagonal in appearance all of the clearest crystal. 

 This is known as Podocystis. There is another which is 

 like a disc or wheel the spokes of which are continued as 

 spines beyond the tire, and the tire is separated several 



