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then a movement of pulling before the evidently very sticky short 
hair-like processes would condescend to give way (fig. 40). They 
did at last, having been more or less elongated, and there was a 
decided and active expression of relief in the jerk-like onward 
movement of the Amoeba. The creature had several of the short, 
wedge-shaped pseudopodia close to the neck, and as it turned to 
reconsider its bundle in a very unautomatic manner, those of 
one side came in contact with some broken-down granules and 
conferva cells. The pseudopodia closed on the granular mass 
and brought it to the part where the neck of the head joined 
the main body, and the prey sank into the endosarc. I have 
repeatedly seen these Amoebae take in food, and it has always 
been at this particular spot. 
Growing to a large size for Amoebae, these tufted ones are by 
far the most interesting to observe, and there is no doubt that 
they have the usual life-cycle of the group. The last I watched 
disappointed me sadly. It had grown corpulent and sluggish, 
and I trusted that it was about to encyst, but suddenly it as- 
sumed the spherical shape, the head and neck were lost in the 
general rotundity of the surface, and then the mass burst at 
one spot, and endless granule-spheres came out. The young of 
this Amoeba have the head-tuft at a very early age, and, like the 
old, never move head first. Like the other Amoebae they now 
and then play antics, change their shape, cling on by one long 
leg and cast out others, then pull all in, and sail off in the shape 
of a sausage or a hand with the fingers extended. 
The parts of an Amoeba are its diaphane and endosarc ; the 
nucleus, the contractile vesicles and the vacuoles are invariable 
structures ; and the granule-spheres and some odd crystalline- 
looking grains are seen in varying quantities. It is evident 
that there is no positive distinction to be made between the 
diaphane and the endosarc, and one can become the other ; but 
the nucleus is a special structure, and has its investing film and 
a nucleolus. 
When the smallest Amoeba visible with the highest powers 
of the microscope is watched for a minute or two, a tiny spot, 
usually not far from its centre, will be seen to enlarge, remain, 
and then suddenly disappear. If the object be still observed, 
the spot will be found to re-appear as a point and then to en- 
large and pursue the same course. Larger Amoebae and the very 
largest also present one or more of these dilating and shutting- 
up spots in their midst ; and certainly the more they are watched, 
the more does their extraordinary character impress itself upon 
the observer (fig. 1 c). The spot is in the denser substance of the 
Amoeba, but one may often be seen so close to the edge (fig. 
16) that it must be in the diaphane. It is spherical in shape, 
and therefore circular in outline, but the pressure of the moving 
