498 NATURAL CARVINGS. 
which, at one time, were by no means common out of 
China, and, therefore, brought very high prices. Of late 
years, however, the natural result of such a demand has 
been a plentiful supply, so that what were once rarities 
are now rather eommon ornaments in many houses. And 
although travellers in those foreign parts have come back 
and endeavored to dispel the mystery that has ever hung 
around these strange examples of a strange people, by tell- 
ing us that they are not made from one piece of solid ivory, 
but carved separately and then moulded one over the other, 
yet they still remain objects of great interest and beauty. 
What will the admiring collector say, however, when we 
tell him that there exist objects almost the counterpart of 
these Chinese ivory balls, the substance of which is glass- 
like, consisting of pure silica, or the same material as rock- 
crystal, but which are thus formed and fashioned by animals? 
And shall we increase his wouder by informing him that the 
beauty of these objects is very materially heightened by the 
fact that they are of minute dimensions, so small in fact, 
that they can only just be seen by the unaided eye, but 
when examined by sufficiently powerful magnifying glasses, 
exhibit a much greater variety of contour and sculpture 
than even the most fantastically formed oriental handiwork ! 
These are known to scientific observers as Polycistinee, and 
it is our intention to say a few words respecting these ob- 
jects, concerning whose life-history, it is true, very little is 
known, but which form beautiful subjects for examination 
by means of the microscope. 
In Plate 7 are represented a few of the many varied 
forms presented by the Polycistinese, and what is with cer- 
tainty known concerning them, we give as follows. First, 
however, so as to make the subject readily understood, we 
must say something with regard to two other classes of very 
simple animals, which, in the modern system of classifica- 
tion, are placed first in the list. These are the Gregarinida 
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