FARMERS' REGISTER— ANIMALCULES. 



411 



ment, and giv^eii us reason to believe that there 

 exist millions of worlds inhabited by beings which 

 must vary in their lorms and pro|)erties according 

 to the characteristics of tlie spheres they inhabit. 

 But to brhig down our imaginations from the con- 

 templation of so vast a field for conjecture, we are 

 attracted by the discoveries of the microscope, 

 and find, by the attestation of our senses, that in 

 a single drop of water there are myriads of ani- 

 mals — atoms — creatures, of which it would rc- 

 <iuire nearly a thousand millions to form a cubic 

 inch, all recreating and executing their various 

 functions and evolutions with as much rapidity 

 and a])parent facility as if the range aflbrdedthem 

 were as boundless as the ocean. Where is the 

 man who can contemplate this scene of busy en- 

 joyment, and not be overawed by the majesty of 

 the works of nature, and not adore the hand that 

 has, in such lavish beneficence, scattered the prin- 

 ciple of life throughout every department of cre- 

 ation. 



Until within the last fifty years, hardly any one 

 was aware of the existence of animalcules; that 

 is, small animals invisible to the naked ej'e, liv- 

 ing in water, and in matter of various kinds. It 

 lias also only been within a very recent period 

 that this branch of natural history has assumed a 

 regular form; and though a classification has been 

 in some measure eft'ected, from what we can 

 learn, the science is still in a very imperfect state. 

 When we are made aware of the characteristics 

 of the animalcule Avorld — lor it seems entitled to 

 this term — it does not appear astonishing that 

 even the most patient investigators, assisted by 

 the most powerflil magnifying glasses, should be 

 at a loss to arrange in distinct orders the apparent- 

 ly innumerable and ever-changing classes. — Ani- 

 malcules bear no resemblance whatever to ani- 

 mals which we can see with the naked e3-e. They 

 are of all imaginable sha[)es; their figures resem- 

 ble round balls, ovals, eels, snakes, corkscrews, 

 funnels, tops, cylinders, pitchers, wheels, flasks. 

 purses, semicircles, kidneys, dots with tails, tobac- 

 co pipes, flowers, iDranches of trees, eggcups, and 

 some have the appearance of a tulip with a flow- 

 ery bulb and stalk. But their figures are so ex- 

 traordinary, so infinite, that it would be quite im- 

 possible to give the least idea of them by descrip- 

 tion. One thing is tolerably obvious: they all 

 possess forms suitable to their peculiar mode of 

 living. If they have to seize their food by darting, 

 they are given a shape in consonance with that 

 object. If they live by creejiing, or swimming 

 slowly, they are of a more inert figure. In these 

 respects, therefore, nature has paid the same de- 

 gree of attention to the construction of animal- 

 cules as it has done with larger animals. 



The apparently incalculable number of forms 

 of animalcules is not more puzzling to the inves- 

 tigator than their assumption of new forms. — 

 Blost creatures that we know of produce young 

 after their kind, either at once bringing forth their 

 progeny in life, or through the medium of eggs, 

 but always producing young resembling them- 

 selves in figure. Animalcules, however, have 

 generally a diflerent way of coming into existence. 

 One class propagate by spontaneous scissure, or 

 division of their bodies into two or more por- 

 tions, each one forming a new creature, which, 

 on its arrival to maturity, pursues the same course 



capricious in their fancy. Sometimes they divide 

 straight across, sometimes lengthwise, and some- 

 times diagonally; and what forms the chief diffi- 

 culty in understanding them, the pieces so sepa- 

 rated do not resemble the original: an animalcule 

 resembling a ball will give birth— if this word can 

 be properly applied— to a number of triangles. 

 Another class of animalcules propagate by the 

 distribution of the internal substance of the parent, 

 of wliich nothing is left but the envelope, soon to 

 be dissolved; a third class are produced from 

 germs; shooting out from the sides of the parent; and 

 most likely there are many other ways by which 

 they come into life, of Avhich naturalists have yet 

 no knowledge. In some instances, animalcules 

 appear to live in shells, which are bivalve, and 

 open and shut at pleasure. 



Notwithstanding the searching power of certain 

 kinds of inicroscopes, it would have been difficult 

 to ascertain the functions of animalcules without 

 the aid of coloring matter. Into the water in Avliich 

 they abound, coloring vegetable matter, ^^'hich 

 supplies them Avith food, is introduced; and being 

 partaken of, the internal structure, now transpa- 

 rent with color, is discerned. By this contrivance, it 

 has been discovered that animalcules possess dis- 

 tinct viscera or digestive organs, and which are of 

 various kinds. Most descriptions of these crea- 

 tures are furnished with a species of hairs bristling 

 out from parts of their bodies; these bristles seem 

 to serve the purpose of fins to give locomotion, 

 and they also act the part of arms to agitate the 

 water, and cause a current to flow towards their 

 mouths. They are also provided with hooks, by 

 which they can attach themselves to any object. 

 Independently of these peculiarities, some animal- 

 cules possess the extraordinary faculty of thrusting 

 out or elongating portions of their bodies at va- 

 rious points, which, assuming the ajjpearance 

 either of' legs or fins, are termed variable processes, 

 and enable the creature to walk or swim. 



To those who wish to be inlbrmed of the alrea- 

 dy kno wn orders of this wonderil.l department of 

 nature's handiwork, we would recommend a pe- 

 rusal of the recently published work of Andrew 

 Pritchard, Esq., entitled. "The Natural History 

 of Animalcules." In this interesting production, 

 which liasafibrded us matter lor some of our pre- 

 sent observations, the author describes the follow- 

 ing as the best method of procuring animalcules 

 whereon to make examinations: "In the selection 

 of vegetable substances for infusions such as stalks, 

 leaves, flowers, seeds of plants, &c. care must be 

 taken that there be no admixture of quinine in 

 them or the intention will be fi-ustrated. Immerse 

 these, whatever (hey may be, for a few days in 

 some clear water, when, "if the vessels which con- 

 tain them be not agitated, a thin pellicle or fdm 

 will be discerned on the surface, which, under the 

 microscope, will be seen to be inhabited by several 

 descriptions of animalcules: the first produce are 

 commonly those of the simplest kind, such as the 

 Monads. In a few days more, their numbers will 

 increase to such an amazing extent, that it would 

 be utterly impossible to compute those in a single 

 drop of the fluid. After this, again, they will be- 

 gin to diminish in numbers, and I have wnerally 

 observed them supplanted by others of a larger 

 species and more perfect organization; such as tlie 

 Cyclidia, Paramesia, Kolpoda?, &c. It is worthy 



In thus cutting themselves in pieces, they are very | of remark here, however, that in their production 



