REPRODUCTION OF ROTIFERA. 325 



beings, it is obvious that we need not have recourse to the 

 idea of spontaneous generation,* to account for their sudden 

 appearance in various situations, and for their speedy multiplica- 

 tion wherever the condition, in regard to food, temperature, &c., 

 is favourable. 



* This term refers to an idea which has heen entertained at various times, that 

 animals of low organisation may of themselves originate, by the accidental meeting 

 of particles adapted to form their structure. 



