i//-^_ 



f^odes of 



^^' ''^^ m/ 

 ?? phi... , \ 



either 



( 



tions ; 



in extetii 



by the 



same 



f from the radicle ! 



vegetate for 



I 



Dncorotherofii 

 my of such 



lop ^ soridia,' cot 



r phase of gror:, 



3ther of the m 



3 



t 



cen lon^ 

 ■d from sifflili 



t been t 

 Conferva 



L 



wkit: 



I 



vessel contaM' 



:v pulverulent t ' 

 'V to develop' \i 



for tWf'^ , : 



'■^ ;t I)' 



•bilst 



tions 



of >ff' - 



W 



;. is;!') 



THE BEGINNINGS OF LIFE. 



453 



were not themselves the direct descendants of Mosses. 



\ 



Many facts^ however, which have been made known, 

 both before and since the date of these observations, 

 seem to favour the possibility of the occurrence of such 

 a metamorphosis. It has been affirmed to take place, 

 for instance, by Prof.Scliaaffhausen^, although more posi- 

 tive information to the same effect had long previously 

 been supplied by Dr. Gros. The latter says^: — ^Des 

 essais fait avec soin prouvent que Ton peut semer des 

 animaux et recolter des plantes. En effet, de la marne, 

 prise a 20 pieds de profondeur, fut ensemencee d'Eu- 

 glenes et recouverte d'un disque de verre. Les Euglenes 

 se mirent a se parifisser, et donnerent les unes des 

 animalcules qui mourirent, les autres des cellules qui 

 se convertirent en Navicules, les troisiemes donnerent 

 des cellules qui se mirent a vegeter, non seulement 

 comm.e les Conferves aquatiques, mais comme des 

 Mousses aericoles qui atteignait 13 millimetres de 

 hauteur a la fin des experiences. La parifissure, le 

 commencement de vegetation, la multiplication des cel- 

 lules vegetales avaient ete constatts tous les jours avec 

 le microscope." And if doubts may be entertained with 

 regard to the conclusiveness of these observations^ owino- 



^ JO 



to the possibility of the chance introduction of a few real 

 Moss-germs, which during their germination were not 

 discriminated from the fissiparously-produced descend- 

 ants of Euglen^ — such doubts are wholly inadmissible 



^ 'Cosmos/ 1863, t. xxii. p. 631. 



2 * Ann. des Sc. Nat/ 1852 (ZooL), p. 20T. 



