/ 



xc 



THE BEGINNINGS OF LIFE. 



cilium, however, had not the power of the fihiment of 

 Astasia^ though it occasionally became terminal/ But Mr. 

 Carter has also seen ordinary AmoehcE actually developed 

 {xovci. EuglencB. He says: — ^I was led to notice this de- 

 velopment by an apparent metamorphosis of the cell con- 

 tents of some fixed and capsuled EuglencE into granuliferous 

 Amcebm of a pinkish colour, within the old cell of Eiiglena 

 itself; and the presence of several such Am(x.h(B creeping 

 about the watch-glass, while many of the cells of the EuglencE 

 {viridis ?) were empty, or only contained a little effete 

 matter, left no doubt in my mind as to the origin of both 

 colour and infusorium. It was also observed in some in- 

 stances, where the contents of the Euglence had passed into 

 an amoebous mass, that the latter underwent a kind of 

 segmentation, so that several (perhaps eight) small AmoebcE 

 were developed instead of one large one/ 



Speaking of Amcchce^ Nicolet says 



1. 



The substance 



which forms the body of the Amoebse may be regarded 

 as the fundamental matter, the constituent substance, of 

 that of all the Infusoria. In short, the greater number of 

 these animalcules reduce themselves into Amoebse, and live 

 under this form when the conditions of their medium, and 

 especially the temperature, are not favourable to another 

 mode of development; and if, as a result of a constant 

 uniformity in the most essential conditions of their existence, 

 an infusorial animalcule happens to reproduce itself by 

 germs, it is always in the state of a Monad (primitive form 

 of the Amoeba) that it recommences its life circle/ Then, 

 again, with reference to the establishment of distinct species 

 of Amcehce, such as naturalists have hitherto described, he 

 says : — ' The different forms which the Amoeba assumes in 

 order to effect its movements have been used as specific 



^ ' Arcana Naturae,' p. 24. ., . 



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