RIVER, GARDENS; 
not hitherto met with any explanations that appear 
to me to he satisfactory. 
“Dr. Hassall, in his work on the Fresli-water 
Algce , observes, that he can perceive nothing extra¬ 
ordinary in these motions; nothing indicative, as 
most suppose, of a sensitive or animal life. He 
then goes on to state that the Oscillator ire are 
naturally straight; that the act of placing them 
under the microscope must, of necessity, bend 
them; and that the motions that are then per¬ 
ceived are nothing more than a return to their 
naturally straight position, depending upon their 
elasticity. He further states, that currents almost 
imperceptible in the liquid in which they are im¬ 
mersed, and perhaps unequal attractions amongst 
the filaments themselves, are causes amply sufficient 
to explain any motion which he has ever witnessed 
amongst the Oscillator ice. 
“This appears to me to he a very easy, hut 
unsatisfactory mode of disposing of a difficulty; in 
short, it is an opinion that is evidently the result of 
hasty or insufficient observation. 
“ Now, I have no hesitation in stating that, after 
very careful and repeated examinations, I have fully 
satisfied myself that the motions of this family of 
fresh-water Algce are entirely independent of any 
42 
