86 MR. H. CHARLTON BASTIAN’S MONOGRAPH 
tomical peculiarities which distinguish them from Ben Dans — hen It is an 
established fact that the young of the so-called Vibrio tritici are capa e of resuming 
their activity, by immersion in water, after having remained dormant within their seed. 
like gall for a period of twenty-seven years, since Baker was — to establish this 
fact in 1771 with specimens given to him by Needham in 17441; and I have lately 
been informed by one of the Fellows of this Society? that he has succeeded in restoring 
them after a period of “about twenty years,” though it was stated by Bauer in his well. 
known paper in the * Philosophical Transactions” for 1822", and by other observers, that 
from five to eight years was the limit; whilst lately, in his valuable work on * Entozoa/ 
Dr. Cobbold has reported the period to be no more than “ four or even five years.” These 
discrepancies depend doubtless to a certain extent upon the manner in which the gall 
has been preserved during the interval, and upon certain differences In the hygrometrieal 
conditions to which it has been subjected, just in the same way as seeds retain their 
power of germination for a variable period under the influence of different methods of 
preservation. I have been able to verify the observations of Spallanzani, Dujardin, 
and others, regarding the degree of vitality of the Nematodes found in tufts of moss, 
though they do not in reality belong to the genus Rhabditis, as reported by Dujardin, 
but are distinct forms, which I have included in the genera Plectus and Aphelenchus. 
And, more marvellous still, I took, this summer, during the long-continued drought of 
months, from the top of a slate roof with a southern aspect, and fully exposed to the 
direct rays of the sun, a patch of the yellow lichen, Parmelia parietina, for the purpose 
of examination—though more with a view of making quite sure that there were no Nema- 
toids in it than with the expectation of finding any—when, after placing a small portion 
with some water in a watch-glass, I was extremely surprised on looking at it with a 
lens about two hours afterwards, to see forty or fifty of these little Nematodes in the full 
swing of life and activity. But with these other Nematoids of moss and lichen it is not 
as with the Vibrio tritici, that this remarkable power is possessed only by young and 
immature individuals, since it is enjoyed also by adults having fully developed ova within 
them. I have found no representatives of these particular types in salt water; and, as 
far as my experience goes, those found in this situation are all incapable of being revived 
after having remained without water, on a slip of glass, for a few minutes. A statement 
apparently in direct opposition to this was made by Otto Müller in his ‘ Animalia Info 
soria Two marine species, named by him Vibrio gordiws and V. anguillula marine 
respectively, were stated to revive after desiccation by the addition of spring water; but 
since he does not make any definite statements concerning the length of time during 
which the movements continued, I suspect that what he observed may be nothing mem» | 
than what I have myself seen very frequently, namely, two or three tolerably brisk con- 
tractions immediately on the addition of the water, gradually becoming less marked, 2 
finally ceasing altogether in less than a minute. This effect I imagine to be physiol 
pe de Needham en réponse au mémoire de Roffredi, dans le Journ. de Phys. de l'Abbé Rosier, 
UN. H. Ince, Esq. | | 
* “Microscopical Observations on the Suspension of the Muscular Motion of the Vibrio tritici.” 
t. v. p 27^ 
