io6 



BIOLOGY AND ITS MAKERS 



entangled therein, extending their body in a long round, and 

 striving to dis-entangle their tayle; whereby it came to pass, 

 that their whole body lept back towards the globule of the 

 tayle, which then rolled together serpent-like, and after the 

 manner of co])])er or iron wire, that ha\ing been wound 

 around a stick, and unwound again, retains those vrindings 

 and turnings," etc.* 



An}- one who has examined under the microscope the well- 

 known bell -animalcule v;ill recognize in this first description 

 of it, the stalk, and its form after contraction under the desiof- 

 nation of a 'tayle which retains those windings and turnings.' 



There are many other descriptions, but the one given is 

 typical of the others. He found the little animals in water, 

 in infusions of pepper, and other vegetable substances, and 

 on that account thev came soon to be designated infusoria. 

 His observations were not at first accompanied by sketches, 

 but in 1 71 1 he sent some drawings with further descriptions. 



0. Fr. MuUer. — These animalcula became favorite ob- 

 jects of microscopic study. Descriptions began to accu- 

 mulate and drawings to be made until it became evident that 

 there were many different kinds. It was, however, more 

 than one hundred years after their discovery by Leeuwenhoek 

 that the first standard work devoted exclusively to these 

 animalcula was Dublished. This treatise bv O. Fr. jNIuiler 

 was published in 1786 under the title of Animalcula Infusoria. 

 The circumstance that this volume of quarto size had 367 

 pages of description vrith 50 plates of sketches will gi\e som.e 

 indication of the number of protozoa known at that time. 



Ehrenberg. — Observations in this domain kept accu- 

 mulating, but the next publication necessary to mention is that 

 of Ehrenberg ('1795-1876). This scientific traveler and 

 eminent observer was the author of several ^^'orks. He was 



* Kent's Manual of the Infusoria, \'ol. I, p- 3. Quotation from the 

 Philosophical Transactions for the year 1677. 



