522 



THE BEGINNINGS OF LIFE. 



-'■^ 



etc. soon produce large internal gemmae (or so-called 

 eggs), by means of which^ instead of by fission, they 

 rapidly multiply their kind. These internal gemma: 

 are, indeed, produced so soon in some cases that, ac- 

 cording to Dr. Gros, Mans quelques-uns de ces individus 

 nees sans parents, on percevait deja les oeufs de leur 

 future lignee."* The same writer, however, affirms that 

 the great majority of the small Rotifers do not reproduce 



K Scarcely more than one out of a hundred 



their kind 



g 



or 



Rotifers is, indeed, a 



is ever seen to contain anything like an ^eg 

 embryo in its interior, although in these exceptional in- 

 dividuals gemmse, capable of reproducing the individual, 

 do make their appearance in the interior of what seems 

 to be the first rudiments of an ovary. This process of 

 internal gemmation as it occurs in some of the small 



process only slightly more 

 advanced than that which also takes place, at times, 

 amongst some of the Ciliated Infusoria. In fact, like 

 the latter organisms (from which they are so frequently 

 derived), small Rotifers are generally mere transitory 

 forms, which, under favourable circumstances, have a 

 tendency to undergo still higher transformations. 



r 



Concerning such complete transformations Dr. Gros 



F 



says 2 : — <- Dans de certain circonstances, on voit le 



r 



contenu de petits Rotatoires equivoques se resoudre 



F 



dans la carapace en des ovules qui peuvent donner 



■ % 



' ^ Dr. Gros, moreover, says that they rarely live more than eight days 

 (loc. cit., pp. 308, 309). 



* Loc. cit., pp. 430, 451, 309, PI. O, figs. 7 and 8. 



stat^ 



c 



The 

 formations v 



reader, but 



onflrnied b; 



Thus, it 



Rotifers, as 



varieties, fr 



when they 

 ffliereby por 

 ized, se] 

 forms are g 

 so that the^ 

 acquired co 

 alluded to t^ 



of thes 



eorg. 



ttiore 



e coE 



comp 



"s to add 



se? 



I have 

 ■loreovei^ b 



^Se 



e 



3 



See 



P-4S 



p. 



4 



505 



