Miscellaneous. 417 
cilia were in active motion. In other respects the animal appeared 
normal, no changes being observed in its nucleus, protoplasmic 
contents, or contractile vesicle. Shortly after I had noticed this 
peculiar rocking movement | found that the elongated extremity was 
breaking up into small masses of protoplasm; these gradually 
separated from the parent body, and each of them exhibited distinct 
amceboid movements. Although the cilia seemed to break off with 
the small masses, I could not detect any signs of their presence 
after separation. For about five minutes small protoplasmic masses, 
exhibiting distinct and independent amceboid movements, continued 
to be shed. 
The rocking movement still continued, but now began to show 
signs of being converted into a movement of rotation. Finally 
a rotary motion was established, and the animal began to change 
its position. At the same time I noticed a distinct elongation 
occurring at the end where the changes described above had 
taken place, a rounded projection appearing, which gradually elon- 
gated, until finally, in the course of about two hours, the individual 
had assumed its original shape and activity, although apparently 
somewhat diminished in bulk. Cilia covered the new growth, but 
they did not seem to be a new formation, but were produced by a 
simple elongation of the ectosare, this being carried forward by 
the growing endosarc. As regards the protoplasmic masses that 
were shed or discharged, I observed them for about four hours, at 
which time they were still active and the parent mass still in 
active motion. On the following day I was unable to detect them, 
and as to their subsequent history I know nothing. 
To characterize the phenomena as described above, I propose the 
term ‘“ Reproduction by Partial Dissociation.” Reproduction by 
fission, gemmation, conjugation, and encystation have all been 
observed in the ciliated Infusoria; and some of the older writers, 
such as Ehrenberg and others, have described a mode of increase, in 
which the substance of the body breaks up into a number of frag- 
ments, each of which is capable of becoming a distinct individual. 
This process they called diffluence ; but Stein and other more recent 
observers Lave denied the existence of this process, claiming that it 
was merely a form of increase from encysted forms. The pheno- 
mena as exhibited by Amphileptus fasciola seem to be quite different 
from those described as occurring in diffluence, and it certainly 
was not a case of encystation.. I have been unable to find any ac- 
count of reproduction in the Infusoria resembling that described 
above, and I therefore place the facts on record, in order that the 
attention of other observers may be directed towards the verifica- 
tion of the phenomena and views expressed above.—Proc, Acad. 
Nat. Sci. Philad. 1883, p. 313. 
On the Anatomy of Peachia hastata. By M. Favror. 
The Actinia discovered by Gosse (in 1855), and named by him 
Peachia hastata, is known only by its external characters. Hitherto 
any exact observation of its internal organization has been impos- 
