286 SEA-SIDE STUDIES. 



Ascidians and Polypes formerly mentioned, an alternation of 

 generations takes place ; the parent producing a child unlike 

 itself, and that child in its turn finally producing one like its 

 grand-parent. " The winged and perfect Aphis produces a 

 "wingless hexapod larva ; this wingless larva produces at last 

 a "winged and perfect insect.'' The reader may imagine how 

 great was the sensation produced in the scientific world by 

 these announcements, and how many theories were pro- 

 pounded in explanation ; we must not pause here to consider 

 them, but proceed with our history. 



The last date was 174.5. In 1819 a Germanised French- 

 man, known to all lovers of romance as the author of Feter 

 ScJdemil, made a discovery in Natural History which was 

 almost as incredible as his Shadowless Man. "Whether this will 

 endear the name of Chamisso still more to his admirers may 

 be a question. Literary men will point "with some satisfac- 

 tion to the fact that a novelist was the discoverer of a form 

 of reproduction unsuspected by the profoundest zoologists. 

 They may also remember that the luminous doctrine of 

 plant-morphology was the discovery of the greatest of our 

 modern poets ; and that the great Haller himself was a poet 

 and litMrateur before, in latter life, he devoted himself with 

 such splendid success to physiology. 



In Chamisso 's day, naturalists knew two distinct species 

 of the curious mollusc named Salpa, an indescribable animal, 

 transparent as ciystal, and of irregular cylindrical aspect. 

 This animal is also seen somewhat different in structure, but 

 most obviously difiFering from the solitary species in being a 

 long chain of animals. In spite of their difi'ercnces, they are 



