DEVELOPMENT OF A GEMMULE. 257 



points of contact. Each of these globules is con- 

 nected with its fellows, by a long straight vessel, and 

 also with the mouth. They do not therefore float 

 freely, but are moored within the cavity, at a little 

 distance from the internal walls, by threads which 

 pass in various directions to the walls. I incline to 

 think them germs, but am not certain. 



This last conclusion has been just confirmed ; for 

 having found one with a single vesicle, much larger 

 and evidently more developed than any before, I con- 

 tinued to watch it. I presently saw that the vesicle 

 was being drawn nearer to the fissure, very slowly 

 and gradually, but uniformly : at length it became 

 evident that it was about to be discharged ; and after 

 about two hours from the time I first observed it, it 

 was clear of the parent, though still sessile on the 

 part from which it had escaped. It was now a per- 

 fect sphere, about -^ inch in diameter, of a granular 

 surface, of a horny yellow hue, containing within it a 

 small, well-defined, but irregular-shaped mass of dark 

 red substance, near the centre. Its appearance is 

 shown at figure 10, more magnified than the other 

 figures. Twelve hours produced no change in the 

 appearance of the excluded ovum, and the next morn- 

 ing, in shifting the water, I unfortunately lost it. 



THE SLENDER CORYNE. 



I find in a vase of old sea-water kept pure by 

 living sea-weed, a Coryne which appears to have a 

 very distinct character and habit from the others that 

 have fallen under my notice. It is adhering to the 



