584 THE AMERICAN NATURALIST [Vol. XL 



rise tip to occupy the pLace of its parent." Dicquemare and 

 Dalvell also ol.sei'ved the same mode of division in sea anemones.^ 

 When the ohservation of the writer as above recorded was men- 

 tioned to Profe.ssor A. Hyatt, he rennirked that reproduction l.y 

 fragmental fission in Mcfrldiiini inart/iNafiini had not, to his 

 knowledge, been thoroiiaiiiy studied and fio-ured, and suguested 

 tlie advisabilitv of j)ursuiiio' the investigation further with a view 

 t.) pul-licati-.n,' ad.lin- that a ^erie. nf drawin-^ illustrative of tiie 

 j,rM, r.. ul.M rve.l wnuld be of value as an ai<l in the teaching of 

 asexual reproduction. In accordance with this suggestion and in 

 the hope of ascertaining wliether forms thus j)r()(hiced developed 

 later into whole organisms, more small specimens of the same 

 genus were collected in June, 1808, in the same tidepool from 

 which the former ^letridium mentioned had been taken. This 

 tidepool was a small one and in it, es|)ecially along the edge, 

 under the overhanging .seaweed, the Metridia were niunerous. 

 Fragments were sought for and readily found in ai)iHidance not 

 far from the mature forms. These were in various stages of the 

 process of curling together and ol)vioiisly had been produced by 



these fragments which was larger than the others had ])artly 



