172 WONDERS OF POND LIFE. 



These green bodies, of which the Volvox is com- 

 posed, are incorrectly called Zoospores, from Zoon, 

 an animal, and Sporos, a seed, and have the power 

 of moving round so lively from place to place, that 

 at first it seems impossible to believe that they are 

 not animals ; but after a great deal of talk among 

 learned persons it has been at last decided that 

 these curious objects are plants, and belong to 

 that great family (Algce) of which we have spoken. 



How do these plants grow ? At certain times 

 each one of these Zoospores, or moving seeds, have 

 buds growing from them, or are divided into two 

 parts, and each of these two parts becomes in its 

 turn the parent of other cells which change into 

 moving seeds, and, being very social little bodies, 

 gather themselves in little round balls within the 

 larger globe. There are nine of these small green 

 spheres in the one we see, which, if nothing had 

 happened to them, would finally have burst through 

 the walls of the mother plant, and started off on 

 their rolling excursions to rear in turn other fam- 

 ilies. Both the parent plant and her children have 

 openings or pores through which the water flows, 

 giving them the food and air they need. These 

 we cannot see because our instrument is not of 

 sufficient power. 



