August 28, 1914] 



SCIENCE 



303 



I instituted a course of investigation, wMcli led to 

 the discovery of several well-cliaracterized forms 

 of vegetable growth, of which, at present, I will 

 give but a short description, for the purpose of 

 establishing priority, and propose giving a more 

 detailed account of them, with figures, in the sec- 

 ond volume of the journal. 



Then follows a description of various new 

 genera and species of eryptogamic vegetation, 

 growing upon the basement membrane of tbe 

 small intestine of tbe myriapod Julus margi- 

 naius (Say), and upon tbe exterior of the 

 entozoa— -4. cam infecta, infesting this insect — 

 another new genera of entopbyta allied to the 

 mycodermata. He further observes : 



Centipede, Millipede, Thousandleg 

 The three genera of entophyta of which I have 

 now spoken are all so constantly found in Julus 

 marginatus that I look upon it as a natural con- 

 dition, and should I hereafter meet with an in- 

 dividual without them, I will consider it a rare ex- 

 ception, because in one hundred and sixteen indi- 

 viduals which I have examined during the past 

 thirteen months, in all seasons, and at all ages and 

 sizes of from one up to three inches of the animal, 

 I have invariably found them. It can not be sup- 

 posed that these are developed and grow after 

 death, because I found them always immediately 

 upon killing the animal. "Whilst the legs of frag- 

 ments of the animals were yet moving upon my 

 table, or one half of the body even walking, I 

 have frequently been examining the plants grow- 

 ing upon part of the intestinal canal of the same 

 individual. And upon the entozoa these ento- 

 phyta will be frequently found growing, whilst the 

 former are actively moving about. I found among 

 others an ascaris three lines long, which had no less 

 than twenty-three individuals of Enteroirus (para- 

 sitic), averaging a line in length, besides a quan- 

 tity of the other two genera, growing upon it, and 

 yet it moved about in so lively a manner that it 

 did not appear the least incommoded by its load 

 of vegetation. This specimen I have preserved in 

 a glass cell in Goadby's solution, and exhibit it to 

 the academy. 



The genus Julus is an extensive one, and its 

 species are found in all the great parts of the globe, 

 and as their habits are the same, the conditions 

 for the production of the entophyta will be the 

 same, and I think I do not go too far when I say 

 they will be constantly found throughout the genus 

 in any part of the world, so that naturalists and 



other, may, upon examination, readily verify or 

 contradict the statements which I have this eve- 

 ning presented. 



Then follow to us these interesting obser- 

 vations : 



From these facts we may perceive that we may 

 have entophyta in luxurious growth within living 

 animals without affecting their health, which is 

 further supported by my having detected myco- 

 dermatoid filaments in the cceeum of six young and 

 healthy rats, examined immediately after death, 

 although they existed in no other part of the body. 

 These filaments were minute, simple and inarticu- 

 late, measuring from 1/5,000 to 1/1,428 inch in 

 length by 1/16,000 of an inch in breadth. With 

 them were also found two species of Vibrio. 



Even those moving filamentary bodies belonging 

 to the genus Viirio, are of the character of algous 

 vegetation. Their movement is no objection to this 

 opinion, for much higher confervse, as the Oscilla- 

 torias, are endowed with inherent power of move- 

 ment, not very unlike that of the Vibrio, and in- 

 deed the movement of the latter appears to belong 

 to one stage of its existence. Thus, in the toad 

 {Bufo americanus), in the stomach and small in- 

 testine, there exist simple, delicate, filamentary 

 bodies, which are of three different kinds. One is 

 exceedingly minute, forms a single spiral, is en- 

 dowed with a power of rapid movement, and ap- 

 pears to be the Spirillum undula of Ehrenberg; 

 the second is an exceedingly minute, straight and 

 short filament, with a movement actively molecular 

 in character, and is probably the Vibrio lineola of 

 the same author; the third consists of straight, 

 motionless filaments, measuring 1/1,125 inch long 

 by 1/15,000 broad; some were, however, twice or 

 even thrice this length; but then I could always 

 detect one or two articulations, and these, in all 

 their characters, excepting want of movement, re- 

 semble the Vibrio. In the rectum of the same ani- 

 mal, the same filamentary bodies are found, with 

 myriads of Bodo intestinalis ; but the third species, 

 or longest of the filamentary bodies, have increased 

 immensely in numbers, and now possess the move- 

 ment peculiar to the Vibrio lineola, which, how- 

 ever, does not appear to be voluntary, but reaction- 

 ary; they bend and pursue a straight course, until 

 they meet with some obstacle, when they instantly 

 move in the opposite direction, either extremity 

 forward. 



These observations were published in 1849, 

 and it is of interest to note that ten years 



