HARDWICKE'S SCIENCE-GOSSIP. 



233 



IV. Suctoria or Acinet.i. — This family is the 

 last of the Infusoria here considered, and it is a very 

 peculiar and interesting one. The members of this 

 group have a protoplasmic body, with nucleus and 

 contractile space, and so far they resemble the pre- 

 ceding. In the absence of food-vacuoles and presence 

 of tentacles or suckers in place of cilia they differ from 



sequent date, if space is afforded me, I may trespass 

 again on the reader's time to mention them. 



Sufficient has been said to show not only how 

 complex the cell of the infusorian may become, but 

 also how diverse and numerous are the forms of this 

 interesting group. Compared with the Amoeba, how 

 much the cell of the higher Ciliata is differentiated. 



Fig- 143- — a, Scyphodia on antenna of Cyclops. B, Vorticellina. 



Fig. 144, — Trichodina pedkulus. 



the Ciliata. They are usually sessile, attached by a 

 stalk, sometimes protoplasmic, to the bodies of the 

 Entomostraca, etc. Sometimes they are furnished 

 with a delicate case. 



The suckers or tentacles which replace the cilia, 

 and which may be considered as a modification of 

 them, are delicate tubes each furnished with a disc at 

 its free extremity. These tubes can be slowly with- 

 drawn into the body and slowly protruded again. 

 The Suctoria feed on infusoria or other minute 

 organisms, and are parasitic. When food comes in 

 the vicinity of one of these organisms, some of the 

 suckers are attached to it, and others play the part of 

 tentacles to hold the prey. The little disc at the end 

 of the tube expands, and thus becomes more firmly 

 fixed. The food particles drawn from the soft body of 

 the luckless host are said to be seen traversing the tube 

 to pass into the interior of the parasite's body. There 

 are several members of this family. Perhaps at a sub- 



It is needless, perhaps, to remark that only a com- 

 paratively few examples have been mentioned. It 

 would require a very large work indeed to embrace 

 all the species, and this task would be rendered the 

 more difficult as every year adds new forms to the 

 list. 



SCIENCE-GOSSIP. 



At a recent meeting of the French Biological 

 Society some interesting facts were brought before 

 the notice of the members. The faiths and folklore 

 of ancient observers are worthy of attention. For 

 instance, the gipsies have long claimed the ability to 

 read off the lines of the open hand, and this know- 

 ledge they have elevated to the science of palmistry. 

 Wandering gipsies are keen observers, as every 

 country policeman is assured. But the females of 



