Vermont watchman and State journal. [volume] (Montpelier, Vt.) 1836-1883, 1847-03-04

III WdlcI' IL is liBuly pIoDdDlc tldI SOHlc
kinds reside in the vapour ofthe atmosphere,
in which, from their light weight, they may
be raised in countless multitudes, and blown
about by the wind in invisible cloud-like
masses. In none of the animals ofthe class
Polygastrica can vascular system be ira
ced In many species there is demonstra-
ton of the existence of eyes, and from the
movements and habits of the animal there
can be but little doubt that the organs of
touch and sensation also exist, though no def
finite nervous system has been detected.
The whole of the movements of the Pol
ygastria land the same remark holds good,
to a certain extent, of all the nfusoria, } are
performed by vibratile ella, series of del
icate hair-lke processes, which differ only
in the several types in number, position and
relative magnitude These delicate appen-
dages, which have received the name of " CT
liza" from their supposed resemblance to the
eye-lashes, are constantly in motion, rapidly
vibrating in the water. In some species of
the Infilsoria they are distributed over the
whole surface of the body; in others they
are disposed in one or more circles round
the mouth or aperture of the digestive Or
gans and i'll some are arranged IN zones on
one or more circular or semi-circular pro-
lections on the upper part of the body. In
the last modification, the successive action
of the rows of ella produces the appearance
of a rotatory motion like that of wheel on
its axis And this resemblance is so strik-
ing as to have induced Ehrenberg to CLASH
ty all the animals possessing this character
in his second division, of which we shall
hereafter have to speak, namely, the Rota-
toria. The chief use of these ella is to bring
the food to the mouth by the currents pro-
duced by them in the waters aeration, and
in those species requiring it, progression is
performed by the agency ofthe same organs.
In the rapid motion of these ella we have
proofs of muscular system; for, reasoning
1 from our present state of knowledge, we can
in no way separate animal motion from mus
cular fibre. Ehrenberg, indeed, believed
that he had discovered muscles, and even
the distribution oftheir fbres in some ofthe
larger Polygastria but great doubt still ex-
lists on the subject.
The Polygastria, when examined at night
are found to be as actively in motion as DUR
ing the day; in fact, they never seem to re-
qulrc repose or, in the words of Ehren-
berg, they appear to be sleepless. Their
geographical distribution is the most univer-
sal of the animal kingdom. 1t is known to
extend over the whole of Europe, the north
of Africa, the west and north of Asia and
species have also been observed in America
The largest and most generally distributed
family of this class is the Bacilaria, its spe-
cies equalling one-fourth of the whole. Fos-
sill states of this curious family are known
in Europe, Africa, the Isle of Bourbon, the
Isle of Luncan, among the Philippines and
America. These remains enter into some
of the new red sandstone formations also
into the layers of hints of the secondary for
nations, certain porphyrte structures, &c.
1t is a remarkable fact that one-half of
the families belonging to this class, Poly
gastria, are loricated, and the other half are
fabricated. OF the former, the most curl
Gus discovery of late is that by M. Fischer,
of the sliceous or glass-like covering of ma
ny species, and although the creatures to
which they belong may have been dead for
thousands of years, yet these remains inform
us of the local conditions of the soil at the
time they existed. In the Polygastria Infl-
soria these shel-like coverings consist either
of lime, slick, or iron and these retain their
form and structure for unlimited periods of
: time. From the uncomfortable number of
these loricated animalculcs which swarm in
every body of water, whether fresh or salt,
and the immense rapdity with which the
species increase by spontaneous fissuration,
gemmaton, and ova-posltion, extensive de-
posts or strata of their cases are constantly
forming at the bottom of lakes, rivers, and
seas. Hence have originated the layers of
I,.rl. calc h..
and morasses the tripol or polishing slate
of Bilin, consisting wholly of the siliceous
cases of animalcules; and the bog-iron, COM
posed of the ferruginous shields of other
forms of Polygastra These shell-like COW
erings are often found in large masses, COW
ering many miles of the earth's surface, and
: occur when indurated and mixed with argyll
laceous and other earths, in the form of ST.
liceous slate rocks. These remains of the
prmeval inhabitants of our globe are rec
ords in the pages of history, penned by In
finite Truth, unbiased by ignorance orpre-
judice and form some of the first fruits of
the effective application of achromatic glas-
ses to our microscopes
The propagation of the Polygastria is eff
f fected in three different ways; and, what is
still more curious, all these modes of repro
duction may 60 on in the same animalcule
at the same time. The first of these modes
is the formation of ova, or eggs, very fer
tile mode of increase; the second consists
IN the growth of gemmules, or buds, upon
the parent and the last, and most extraor-
binary, is the spontaneous self-division of
the body of the animalcue into two or more
individuals. In the Monads this process may
readily be observed. When it is about to
take place, the granules within the integu-
ment or outer case seem to be divided by a
traverse line; this gradually becomes more
apparent; and, at length, the containing
case itself contracts along the course of this
line, and the Monrad appears double. Both
parts now have an impulse to separate, and
an entire division soon takes place the two
become perfect individuals, and swim off in
opposite directions. When we take into
consideration all these methods of increase
possessed by these extraordinary beings, we
can no longer wonder at their otherwise in
comprehensive increase of number in a ve-
ry short space of time Ehrenberg himself
remarks on the astonishing great fertility
or capacity of increase of microscopic ami
mails, according to which an imperceptible