44 POPULAR ILLUSTRATIONS OF 



the deep, deep sea, or the cornucopia which the fairies of ancient 

 Greece used to fill with flowers. In the words of Dr. Williamson, 

 when dealing with these shells, we may exclaim, " Imagination may 

 long revel amongst these lovely creatures, ever finding abundant 

 scope for the play of fancy ; and should any one still exist in this 

 nineteenth century who is disposed to frown upon such objects as 

 unworthy of serious study, let him submit to be reminded that in 

 nature, as well as in art, 



A thing of beauty is a joy for ever." 



Now the mode in which these shells have been formed has been 

 well studied, and is well known. It is the simplest thing in the 

 world, for it is nothing more in the great majority than a process of 

 budding. It is done in this wise : Suppose Fig. 45 (p. 42), which is 

 a Lagena, were to propel a bud from its base, which were to grow 

 straight downwards, and reach about half the size of the maternity 

 (Fig. 45), and then propel another bud, which also grew to half the 

 size of its mother, and so on, for two more instances why it is quite 

 clear, that you would have a figure exactly like Fig. 47 (p. 42), which 

 is no longer a Lagena, but a Nodosaria. Now suppose that the second 

 node in Fig. 47 were an independent Foraminifer and there are 

 many such and it were to develop a succession of buds like those I 

 have described, which, instead of growing down straight, were to 

 deviate to the right or the left ; the shell, when completed, would 

 have the discoidal shape shown in Figs. 50-56 (p. 42). Or look at 

 the Figs. 58 to 61 (p. 42) ; suppose the largest segment to be the 

 original germ, and the others gemmae therefrom in the way I have 

 described, and the mode of formation of these shells will be quite 

 intelligible. A different mode of growth is adopted by the non- 

 porous group, represented by Fig. 62 (p. 42), the Miliolinae. In 

 these shells each chamber is of equal length and formed after the 

 fashion of a piece of thread round a ball. The orifice is therefore 

 alternately, as the bud is perfected, at each end of the shell. In 

 Fig. 63 (p. 42) there are no partitions, either outwardly or inwardly ; 

 the shell, which attains the size of one-fiftieth of an inch in diameter, 

 is a simple cylindriform tube, coiled upon itself on a horizontal plane, 

 and is perforated with numerous foramina, through which the pseu- 

 dopodia extend. Fig. 57 (p. 42) represents a curious family, in 

 which the buds have no communication with each other, though 

 attached by their external shells. Dr. Carpenter suggests that if 

 we imagine one of these prolonging itself in a spiral form, it would 

 become a shell like that seen in Fig. 63 (p. 42). If the sarcode 

 body, as stated before, be separated from the shell, it would in many 

 species be a cast more or less of each of the chambers, which freely 



