MULTIPLICATION OF THE HYDRA. 



59 



seen to stretch forth its arms, extending them, per- 

 haps, to the length of several inches, and becoming 

 as attenuated as the fibres of a spider's web, and 

 then suddenly seizing and entangling its prey, the 

 victim is instantly paralyzed. Wondrously con- 

 structed indeed are these arms ; their substance, like 

 that of the body, is jelly-like, and filled with grains ; 

 they are tubular, and so arranged that they may be 



THE LONG-ARMED HYDRA. 



extended or contracted at pleasure ; and they are 

 filled with fluid which is no sooner ejected than the 

 prey ceases to struggle. 



Most extraordinary is the extent to which one of 

 these creatures may be multiplied. If the upper 

 part be cut off, it will soon be completed by the 

 addition of a tail ; if the tail be cut off, a head with 

 its appendages will as speedily appear. Other 



