THE LASSO-THROWERS. 65 
the hydras of the colony, which may be great-great- 
grand-buds of the hydra which settled down. 
They lengthen out and their bodies divide into 
rings (c and d, Fig. 24), and' as these rings grow 
deeper and deeper the tentacles fall away from the 
Fig. 24. 
The childhood of the jelly-fish shown in Fig. 23. 
a, Swimming jelly-body, b, The same fixed to a rock, which may 
go on budding like a hydra and giving off forms like itself for many 
years, c, The hydra beginning to divide into rings, d, Rings becom- 
ing more perfect, e, Rings breaking off from the hydra, e', One riny 
which has turned over and begun to grow into a jelly-fish, e", The 
same developing into the perfect jelly-fish as in Fig. 23. 
top and begin to grow out below (e), and at last one of 
the rings drops off from the top, a complete saucer 
(/), and turning over so that the domed part is upper- 
most, begins to contract and expand its rim, and sails 
away a minute jelly-fish ! Other rings follow in its 
path, and the descendant of the fixed hydra has again 
become a group of wandering lasso-throwers. 
And now the floating domes begin to grow rapidly; 
in each one the umbrella thickens, the stomach with 
