Fission and Oemmation in the Animal Kingdom. 51 



gemmation, interprets the whole mode of reproduction simply 

 as gemmation. 



When V. Kennel further divides the manifold forms of 

 gemmation into axial (strobilation sensft latiori) and lateral'^ ^ 

 this distribution is also of little value, since it is based solely 

 upon the difference in the direction of the growth, and there- 

 fore a similarity of the jirocesses in question in other respects 

 is tacitly affirmed, which is by no means the case. Besides 

 it is in many instances a matter of purely personal interpre- 

 tation whether the actual bud is regarded as lateral or ter- 

 minal (origin of many HydromedusEe by gemination). 



In other words, whether an animal, as such, grows, and 

 during the growth or subsequently divides itself into a number 

 of individuals, or whether an animal by a special growth upon 

 itself produces new zooids, are two entirely different pro- 

 cesses ; at any rate their difference is far greater than that 

 between the questions whether the buds arrive at their deve- 

 lopment upon an animal at the side, in front, or behind, pro- 

 vided only that their formation agrees in other respects. 



1 am therefore not in a position to recognize as really well- 

 grounded the distinguishing characteristics of fission and 

 gemmation which are laid down by v. Kennel, apart from the 

 fact that they also convey no advantage for the praxis of a 

 simpler discrimination between the two modes of repro- 

 duction. 



V. 



On referring to the foregoing statements it may be asserted 

 that fission and gemmation can well be distinguished from 

 one another. While all forms of reproduction which were 

 referable to the natural conception of fission were brought 

 into one division, a general characteristic was disclosed for 

 those methods also which remained outside that series, in the 

 special character of the growth which appears in connexion 

 with them. This separation of two widely distributed forms 

 of asexual reproduction is, however, not to be maintained 

 merely from the practical point of view of facility of syste- 

 matic survey ; but it is also not devoid of a deeper meaning : 

 the intimate relation between fission and gemmation is, at 

 least to the extent to which it is nowadays so frequently 

 accepted, a fiction. 



Without of course wishing to deny all connexion between 



* Op. cit. p. 17. 



