62 SIPHONEJE. 



" As I continued my observations, I happened to look at 

 the surface of the water, and was not a little astonished to 

 find it covered, especially towards the side of the vase, with 

 minute globules, unequal both in colour and size. Many of 

 them swam freely about here and there, moving at their 

 option in one way or another, retiring and approaching one 

 another, gliding round globules that were motionless, stopping, 

 and again setting themselves in motion exactly like animated 

 beings. 



" Conjecturing the identity of the green globules that pos- 

 sessed motion with those that had none, I immediately began 

 to examine whence these infusory animalcula derived their 

 origin, and what relation they bore to the green globules 

 and the fructification of the Conferva. 



" The next day I perceived a great number of the globules 

 aggregated around the bubbles of air, disengaged from the 

 Conferva and floating at the surface. Some of them were 

 of a dark-green colour, and either round or elongated ; 

 others more transparent, tumid, and with one or two appen- 

 dages diverging from or at right angles with each other ; 

 these were evidently plants in a state of germination ; other 

 globules again were oval, very dark at one extremity, and 

 almost transparent at the other ; these swam about freely. 



" Within the space of an hour I succeeded in tracing not 

 only the diminution of vitality and death of the Infusoria, 

 but also the subsequent developement of the dead animals into 

 germinating plants, in such a manner as to establish the 

 truth of the fact. But on the 12th of March, I had the 

 pleasure of ascertaining distinctly the origin of these minute 

 bodies. I undertook to observe without interruption one of 

 the tubercles of fructification, which I have already mentioned 

 as terminating the filaments, in order to discover what became 

 of the green matter enclosed within it. I had observed it for 

 the space of half an hour when the following changes became 

 perceptible. 



" The globule became gradually darker in its colour, and a 

 little transparent at its extremity: in the middle it was 

 evidently somewhat contracted, and had some ' traces of 



