manifeft the wonderful powers thereof, fo the univerfe and it’s
parts are adapted to receive life from the fource of all life, and
thus become reprefentatives o f his immenfity and. eternity.
The polypes may be as it were grafted together. I f the truncated
portions o f a polype are placed end to end, and then
pufhed together with a gentle force, they will unite, and form
a fingle one. The union is at firft made by a fine thread,
and the portions are- diftinguilhed by a narrow neck, which
gradually fills up and difappears, the food palling - from one
portion to another. Portions, not only o f the fame, but
pieces of different polypes, may be thus united together. You
may fix the head o f one polype to the trunk of another. And
that which is thus produced will grow, eat, and.multiply like-
another..
There is Hill another method' o f uniting thefe- animals together,
more wonderful in it’s nature*, and lefs- analogous to any known
principles of. animation* and more difficult to perform. It is:
effefted by introducing one within the other, forcing the body
of one into the mouth of the other, and puffiing it down fo that
their heads may be brought-together; in this Hate it muff be-
kept for fome time; the two- individuals are at laft united, and
grafted into each other ; and the polype, which was at firft double,
is converted into one, with a large quantity of. arms, and:
performs all it’s functions, like-another,.
The hydra fufca furniffies us with another prodigy* to which
we know nothing that is fimilar, either in the animal or vegetable
kingdom, They may be turned infide out like a glove, and
notwith-.
M i c r o s c o p i c a l E s s a y s .
notwithftanding the apparent improbability of the circumftance,
they live and aft as before. The lining, or coating, of the
ftomach now forms the epidermis, and the former epidermis now
conftitutes the coating of the ftomach. A polype thus turned
may often have young ones attached to it’s fide. I f this is the
cafe, after the operation they are o f courfe inclofed in the ftomach.
Thofe which have acquired a certain fize extend themfelves towards
the mouth, that they may get out when feparated from the
body, thofe which are but little grown turn themfelves infide out,
and by this means place themfelves. again on the outfide o f the
parent polype..
The polype thus turned, combines itfelf a thoufand different
ways. The fore-part often clofes- itfelf, and becomes a fuper-
numeracy tail. The polype which was at firft ftrait, now bends
itfelf, fo that the two tails refemble the legs of a pair of compaffes,,
which it can open and ffiut. The old mouth is at the joint as it
were o f the compaffes.; it cannot, however, aft as one, fo that a
new one is formed near it, and in a little time you have anew
fpecies of hydra with feveral mouths..
Fig. lB, Plate XXIII. B, reprelents the upper part o f a polype
that has been divided into two parts, a the upper, c the lower
part, the end c being fomething larger than that of a common
polype, and is fenfibly perforated ; in the fummer time this part
often walks and, eats the fame day it is cut.
Fig. 17, the other part o f the-fame polype; the anterior
end is very open, and the edges of it turned a little outwards,
which-afterwards folding inwards, clofe the aperture. This end
how.