CELLS. PHYTQZOA. 
71 
spaces, every cell having one. They gradually escape 
from their cells, by what means or through what open- 
ing I have not been able to ascertain, and the whole 
field soon appears filled with life. They are generally 
spirals of two or three coils, and never become straight, 
though their agitated motion alters their shape in some 
degree. They have at their foremost end a filament so 
fine as only to be seen by its motion, which is very rapid 
and vibratory, running along it in waves. 
“ These objects, although they have every appearance 
of life, swim about with no apparent consciousness of 
each other, or any choice of direction. Their filamentary 
end goes foremost ; when they come into contact with 
each other they become entangled, and their motion is 
hindered. This does not cause any retreating action or 
attempt at separation except by accident. 
“ They appear to be an example of life without self- 
will or choice. Their motions gradually slacken, and in 
about an hour they become perfectly still. 
et If a globule be forcibly opened before it is ripe, the 
filaments will give no indication of life.” 
Unger has described them in Sphagnum as Infu- 
soria , under the name of Spirillum ; they have been the 
subject of great controversy, and Schleiden, denying 
their animal nature, has stated that they are nothing 
more than fibre in an early stage of development. 
From what I have been able to observe, I think that 
Schleiden’s notion is decidedly erroneous, and that they 
are strictly analagous to the Spermatozoa. 
