Trembly  cut  a  Hydra  into  four  pieces  :  each  became  a  perfect
Hydra ;  and,  while  they  were  growing,  he  cut  each  of  these  four  into
two  or  three.  These  fractions  of  the  quarters  being  on  their  way  to
become  perfect,  he  again  divided  these,  and  thus  he  went  on,  till  from
the  one  Hydra  he  obtained  fifty.  All  these  became  perfect  ;  he  ijept
many  of  them  for  more  than  two  years,  and  they  multiplied  by  their
natural  gemmation  just  as  much  as  others  that  had  never  been  divided.
Again,  he  cut  similar  polypes  longitudinally,  and  in  an  hour  or  less
each  half  had  rolled  itself,  and  seamed  up  its  cut  edges,  so  as  to  be  a
perfect  Hydra.  He  split  them  into  four ;  he  quartered  them  ;  he  cut
them  into  as  many  pieces  as  he  could  :  and  nearly  every  piece  became
a  perfect  Hydra.  He  slit  one  into  seven  pieces,  leaving  them  all  con-
nected by  the  tail,  and  the  Hydra  became  seven-headed,  and  he  saw
all  the  heads  eating  at  the  same  time.  He  cut  off  the  seven  heads,  and,
Hydra-like,  they  sprang  forth  again.  And  even  the  fabulist  dared  not
invent  such  a  prodigy  as  the  naturalist  now  saw.  The  heads  of  the
LerriEean  Hydra  perished  after  excision  :  the  heads  of  this  Hydra  grew
for  the^lselves  bodies,  and  multiplied  with  as  much  vigour  as  their
parent-trunk.
