Floscularia] TH E INFUSORIA. 347 



has four muscles, two jaws, with teeth in rows, and two 

 pancreatic glands ; the mouth is situated under the large 

 leaves or lobes of the rotatory organ ; the discharging 

 orifice is at the base of the prehensile tail : the propagative 

 system resembles the preceding genus, but the male por- 

 tion is not satisfactorily known. A vascular system has 

 not been observed, but the two tubular processes beneath 

 the mouth are probably subservient to respiration; the 

 two frontal eyes in the ova and young animalcules, together 

 with the curved glandular band of nervous matter in each 

 leaflet of the vibratile organ, represent the system of sen- 

 sation; the chewing movement of the mouth has been 

 often mistaken for the action of a heart. 



578. MELICERTA ringens. The ring-tailed Melicerta 

 has a conical granulated case, resembling a honey-comb, of 

 a brownish-red colour ; it is composed of small lenticular 

 bodies, expressly deposited by the animalcule from the 

 posterior alimentary opening (and not foreign matter, like 

 the habitations of the larvae of the Phryganea) ; these are 

 agglutinized by a peculiar viscid matter, also exuded, and 

 afterwards hardened in the water. Into this tube the soft 

 crystalline or whitish animalcule can withdraw itself; 

 when its flower-like wheelwork is expanded, the vibratile 

 cilii appear to run along the margin of this organ, but, in 

 fact, each single cilia only turns itself upon its base, and 

 the aggregate motion causes a little whirlpool in the water, 

 directed towards the mouth, situated in the middle of the 

 two large leaflets of this organ ; the eyes are placed near 

 the two other bent leaflets, which, according to Dr. Ehren- 

 berg, are analagous to a cleft upper lip of the dorsal 

 surface; the discharging orifice is on the same side, and 



