50 THE MICROSCOPE. 







is given. 1 The name Kotifera, or " Wheel 

 Animalcules," was assigned to them from their 

 having, in the anterior part of their body, little 

 organs like wheels ; and which, like wheels, 

 continually move upon their own axis. This 

 appearance is as extraordinary, as if the head 

 of a man ivere seen to be continually whirling 

 round on the axis of his neck. 



Though the Kotifer is not the -^th of an 

 inch long, it possesses tail and eyes, chin and 

 mouth, jaws, teeth, and stomach. Mr. Gosse 

 states that the muscular, the nervous, the 

 digestive, and the reproductive systems of the 

 " Wheel-bearers/' are particularly well deve- 

 loped. 2 By their cilia, these Infusoria create a 

 lilliputian whirlpool in the water, and by the 

 movement suck their prey into their mouth. 

 They produce their progeny by eggs, from 

 which the young often pass while yet in the 

 body of the parent ! And so rapid is the pro- 

 cess, that, according to Ehrenberg, seventeen 

 millions may be produced within twenty-four 

 days from one individual ! They are evidently 



1 Carpenter on the Microscope, p. 473. 



2 Life, p. 198. 



