AMPHITRITE. 231 



men, which had been found without its tube, consisted of fifteen or six- 

 teen branchiae. Yet the whole body extended but the eighth of an inch. 

 Here there were both original and regenerated segments, but in natural 

 proportion, it should have been five or six times as long if unmutilated. 

 Thus the upper portion with the plume was older than the rest. This 

 specimen survived two months. 



A clean tube, half a yard long, was curtailed to ten inches, and 

 transferred to a suitable vessel, on June 19. Its fixture ensued in a fort- 

 night, and its tenant then rose freely to display a plume of the finest 

 colours. Half an inch of the lower extremity separated however on the 

 same day after transference, from an incidental wound. The anterior 

 part of this fragment appeared to be healed in twenty-three days. A pro- 

 minent papilla was recognised there in other five, when, testifying some 

 impatience on exposure to the light, the fragment was deposited along 

 with a little mud in the dark. 



However improbable the evolution of these organs we are wont to 

 assign as the head, might seem from a fragment so far asunder as the 

 opposite extremity, short slender hairs now denoted the rudiments of 

 branchiae. Forty days after separation, the whole reproduction exceeded 

 a line ; both fans were quite distinct, and eight or ten bare ribs seemed 

 to be subsequently fringed. All these closed together like half-shut 

 hands, for they were in two portions. The whole was exposed by the 

 microscope, shewing also one or two brown spots on the ribs, regenerat- 

 ing parts about the tongue and bristles on the shoulder indicating inci- 

 pient pencils. Omitting the reproduction, the entire fragment at this 

 time extended nine lines. Plate XXX. fig. 9 ; enlarged, fig. 10. 



All the parts had augmented on the 1st of August. The fringes 

 were clearly distinguished by an ordinary lens on the 4th, and next day 

 the length of the plume was computed at a quarter of that of the body. 

 But this body itself was more meagre than previously, the natural con- 

 sequence of deficient aliment, from the privation of organs. On the 9th, 

 the plume extended three lines ; it was fresh and vivid, consisting of the 

 branchiae beautifully decorated with three complete circles of red spots on 



