VOL. XXIII.J FHILOSOPHICAIi TRANSACTIONS. Q 



That which seemed very surprising was, that the said animalcula would some- 

 times extend their horns to so great a length, that through the microscope 

 they seemed several fathoms long; as represented in fig. 11, nop, where also 

 are shown the knotty protuberances, as in fig. 10, klm. These protuberances 

 seem to be composed of 7 round globules placed together, viz. One in the 

 middle, which was more prominent than the rest, and the others about it 

 like a rose. 



I observed in the green weeds abundance of strange animalcula, some of 

 which feed upon the same green stuff, and to others it serves instead of 

 skulking holes, to hide themselves from the fish, which would otherwise de- 

 vour them. 



To return to the generation of the abovementioned green weeds ; I have 

 several times observed, that most of the roots are thickest at the extremity, 

 and provided with a great many parts that look like flowers to the eye, with 

 long pipes in them, which I take to be a gummy excrementitious matter, 

 which by overspreading the whole root, causes it to die or wither. 



I have often dissected some of these small weeds, which had never yet pro- 

 duced any others, and have taken young weeds out of them, which were so 

 very small, that they escaped my naked eye. 



Let us suppose that abc, fig. 6, which we call a green weed, is composed of 

 three entire weeds, of which that part marked a, we will call the mother 

 plant, from whence proceed several roots ; first the plant b is immediately 

 produced by the said mother-plant, and joined to it by a fibre, which, as it 

 grows, conveys nourishment to it, till it be provided with roots of its own ; 

 before the weed b is arrived to its full growth, a has brought forth another, 

 marked c, which also has no root : now if we should dissect one of those 

 weeds, even though they were ever so small, we shall find young embryo 

 weeds within them. I opened one of these immature weeds, and took out 

 such an embryo as is before described ; and placing it before the microscope, it 

 was immediately drawn, before the moisture should exhale ; for if that should 

 happen, the vessels through which it receives its increase, could not be easily 

 described. 



Fig. 12 represents a weed which I had taken out of another of the size of c, 

 in fig. 6: this weed received its nourishment by that part marked st. Between 

 ST inwards, you may observe five small particles, which I imagine to be also 

 young weeds; and that part too that lies between st outward, is a young 

 weed, which had as round and as entire a shape as grst itself. So that it 

 hence appears, that all these green weeds proceed from a seminal matter, as well 

 as other plants do. 



VOL. V. C 



