FOUND IN THE NORTHUMBERLAND LAKES. 407 
lower portion of the body,—rarely more than one at a time. 
Afterwards the budding was much less frequent ; and in about a 
month from the time they were taken, most of the specimens had 
perished. Two or three, figs. 1 & 2, more favourably placed than 
the rest, continued to live on for some time longer, and thrived 
well; but they changed considerably in appearance. A short way 
below the tentacles, two tubercles, a, a, had developed themselves 
opposite to each other, and were in every respect symmetrical ; 
and the body was considerably enlarged towards the lower extre- 
mity. In this state the animal had a pedunculate appearance, 
and I was quite at a loss to account for the change. These speci-: 
mens belonged to the first batch procured in Bromley Lough. 
On visiting the lakes again, however, in September, and getting 
a fresh supply, nearly all the individuals exhibited the same 
appearances ; the tubercles being invariably a little below the 
tentacles, though not always symetrically placed; and occasionally 
they were three and even four in number: the swelling, too, on 
the lower part of the body, varied in different specimens. 
On placing one of them under the miscroscope, the tubercle, 
Pl. VIII. fig. 5, was found to be vesicular, of a conical form, with 
the apex obtuse, and to resemble in texture the general surface of 
the animal: the basal portion contained an opake, rosy, granular 
body, a, of a glandular appearance, which completely filled the 
base of the tubercle: the apex, 6, was pellucid, and on being 
attentively examined, a crowd of very minute moving bodies were 
observed within it. 
Whilst watching, with great earnestness, the motion of these 
mysterious bodies, all of a sudden the apex of the tubercle burst, 
and a great number of them, cloud-like, rushing into the sur- 
rounding fluid, dispersed in all directions. The rupture appeared 
to close again, and the apex was seen to be almost empty ; but 
fresh bodies making their appearance, the receptacle was soon as 
full as ever. I have seen the eruption of these corpuscles on 
several occasions, and have no doubt that it is a natural pheno- 
menon ;—not resulting from any artificial means,—certainly 
not from pressure, as the animals were always quite free. On 
examining these moving bodies, which are exceedingly minute, 
F3 
