Excerpt from Quarterly Journal of Microscopical Science, 1861, Vol. 1 I will only here remark, on the propagation of the Dia tomaceae, that although it has not been shown that they form gonidia, yet I have reason to believe that gonidia, in the form of still or resting spores, are the sources from which the new crop originates on the beach each successive spring. This opinion I have formed from the following facts. First, amongst the myriads of specimens of marine Diatomaceae I have examined in the living state, I have never observed the process of conjugation. Secondly, I have, as a general rule, found the same species luxuriating in the same circum scribed locality (extending, in many cases, over only a few square yards) which yielded it in the previous summer. The presence of a particular form, year after year, in the same spot, would therefore appear to be due to the propagating cause, remaining buried in the sand during the winter, through the course of which not a diatom is to be found. Were the crop of each succeeding spring due to the subdivision of a single frustule, or of a few, accidently left by the tides, the same locality would prod, uce in all probability, widely different forms each returning season. About the Publisher Forgotten Books publishes hundreds of thousands of rare and classic books. Find more at www.forgottenbooks.com This book is a reproduction of an important historical work. Forgotten Books uses state-of-the-art technology to digitally reconstruct the work, preserving the original format whilst repairing imperfections present in the aged copy. In rare cases, an imperfection in the original, such as a blemish or missing page, may be replicated in our edition. We do, however, repair the vast majority of imperfections successfully; any imperfections that remain are intentionally left to preserve the state of such historical works.