BEIGHTWELL, ON NOCTILUC^. 
185 
greatly in length. Tliey consist of very fine^ sublinear 
cells, simple, or composed of two or three cylindrical cellules ; 
they are generally kneed, or present irregular bulgings and 
bendings. They are not unlike the sterigmata of Abrothallus 
(Monograph of the genus Abrothallus, ' Journal of Microsc. 
Science,' Jan., 1857, p. 60, and PI. V, figs. 1 and 2). They 
usually taper gradually into the spermatia, which are given ofP 
as buds from their apices. I could sometimes trace the sterig- 
mata given off in groups of three or five, like fingers or digi- 
tate processes, laterally from irregular, ramose, articulated, 
thickish tubes, imbedded in or springing from the internal walls 
of the spermogone. The sterigmata are very closely appressed, 
and 671 masse, under a low power, they appear as mere striae 
arranged convergently to the cavity of the spermogone. 
The spermatia are about -3 oVo z^Vo ^^'^^^ long. They are 
straight, rod- shaped, hyaline bodies, Y»dth obtuse ends ; having, 
indeed, the characters of the spermatia of the majority of 
lichens. In some spermogones I did not observe the 
spermatia floating free ; they were attached to the sterigmata. 
But in such cases they appeared about double the size of 
those I found in myriads floating free in other spermogones. 
Tulasne, I think, has noticed a similar phenomenon in the 
spermogones of certain lichens ; and he hazards the opinion, 
for the fact is by no means established, that such large 
spermatia, after being thrown ofi^, divide fissiparously into 
two. In some spermogones, where the spermatia were ex- 
tremely numerous, they were also so minute that they could 
with difficulty be distinctly seen (under power 380) . (PL XI, 
figs. 1—16. 
On Self-division in Noctiluca. 
By Thomas Brightwell, F.L.S. 
The observations we have to communicate on the subject 
of Noctiluca may properly have for their text or starting- 
point the following passages in vol. iii of this journal : 
Dr. Busch, at p. 201, says — '^'^In PI. X, fig. 7, is repre- 
sented an animal apparently referable to Noctiluca, and 
which might readily be imagined to represent a gemmule 
fully developed on a perfect Noctiluca, which had pullulated 
on the disc itself, and only required to be detached to become 
an independent ihdividual. But the author is rather inclined 
to believe that it is only an a^bnormity, a double monster; 
for, if a germination of this kind really took place in this 
class of animals, it would be very remarkable that only a 
