312 Bibliographical Notices. 



a series of long slender thread-like tentacula, — and thus it lives ap- 

 parently for an indeterminate period, exercising all the functions of a 

 perfect «.nd adult animal even to the repeated production of young 

 in all respects alike to the parent. So it lives until, from some un- 

 known causes, a change comes over it, and it begins to unveil itself, 

 and to exhibit one of the most w^onderful revelations in animal trans- 

 mutations. A pendulous column or roll is observed as if implanted 

 on the disc of the hydra ; at first it is faintly indented by circles and 

 is terminated by a circular row of tentacula ; the indenting circles 

 become more deeply waved, the tentacula shorter until they are ob- 

 literated ; and then each roll of the column is successively separated 

 and liberated from the others until the whole embryonic column is 

 dissolved, the individual rolls floating at freedom in the bosom of the 

 waters, obviously the young of one of those large Medusae whicli 

 swarm our seas in the months of the latter summer and autumn ! — 

 Now this short sketch of the metamorphosis is not of any new dis- 

 covery, for Sars had made us in some degree acquainted with it, but 

 the account of it given by Sir John Dalyell excels all others in full- 

 ness and completeness, and in its freedom from conjectural explica- 

 tions. The metamorphosis itself is wonderfully curious, but what 

 strikes us as the most unaccountable fact in the process is the un- 

 certainty of the periods at which the change shall take place. The 

 Hydra tuba shall remain for years a hydra propagating its kind, and 

 we know of no data to fix the period when it shall begin the process 

 of change into its mature and final state ; and, to add wonder to 

 wonder, having cast oflF several of these medusean embryos, a basis 

 remains out of which another Hydra tuba shall arise, to go through 

 the same hydra life and the same medusean metamorphoses as its 

 predecessor. We suppose that these facts — for facts they are — will 

 not support the opinions of Steenstrup on alternating generations, 

 nor can even be reconciled with them. 



The way in which Sir John discovered that the Hydra tuba was 

 the embryo of a Medusa was this : he took a large Medusa, of unde- 

 termined species but beautifully figured on plate 15, and placing it 

 in a vase of sea-water the spawn — " a brownish matter like dust" — 

 was shed from its ovarian fringes and settled at the bottom. This 

 spawn consisted of " an host of animated creatures in quick and va- 

 ried motion," partaking much of the nature of the planules of the Ser- 

 tularians. The changes they rapidly underwent were noted and de- 

 lineated ; and in eleven or twelve days after " the planule had been 

 discharged from the unwieldy Medusa, it was converted to a sta- 

 tionary hydra." (p. 105) " This new animal was provided with a 

 complement of eight arms, yet so immature as to be of unequal 

 dimensions. Different groups, under metamorphosis, showed the 

 utmost irregularity in respect to evolution, to their shape and pro- 

 portions : nor was it until thirteen days later, or three weeks after 

 their birth, that any appeared with eight regular tentacula. Thus 

 was a most perplexing problem solved — the Hydra tuba proved to 

 have sprung of a Medusa." (p. 105.) 



The progress of discovery went on. Sir John had "remarked 



