11 
suspension of the muscular motions of the vibrio tritici. 
microscope, appears to consist entirely of a clear and colour- 
less fluid, which neither evaporates nor dries on the glass 
after several months ; but if the cemented mass of worms is 
immersed in water, the clear fluid almost instantaneously 
dissolves, and the worms separate. 
If the worms are kept in a considerable quantity of water, 
and the water is frequently changed, the worms very soon 
die in the water, or if taken out whilst yet alive, and suffered 
to dry on the glass, they remain dead ; but if the young 
worms are kept only in a moderate quantity of water in a 
watch-glass, the mucus, or glutinous substance, rises, and, in 
about twelve hours, forms a film on the surface of the water, 
and soon becomes nearly opaque, and sinks again upon the 
worms at the bottom of the glass, and in that state the worms 
continue alive more than two months ; but if that film be 
carefully scummed off, the worms in the water die ih less 
than twelve hours. 
This glutinous substance must be secreted by the worms ; 
since in grains in which the worms and the fungi or smut- 
balls exist, that portion of the cellular tissue of the young 
germens, where a worm has formed its nest and laid its eggs, 
is entirely preserved ; whilst in those portions of the grains 
which are immediately in contact with the fungi, the cellular 
tissue entirely disappears, and the fungi are only enveloped 
by the external tunic of the young germen. 
From these facts, we are to consider this glutinous substance 
as the probable cause of preserving these minute animals for 
such a length of time. What is recorded of the shell-snail, 
which can, by its own mucus, hermetically seal itself for 
thirty years in its shell against a wall, is similar to this : when 
