162 ANNALS OF SCOTTISH NATURAL HISTORY 



ought to see. I have year after year seen young adders 

 lying around their mother in autumn. Probably the sudden 

 movement they make towards their parent's head when 

 disturbed starts the illusion. Then she invariably lowers 

 her head, and the young glide out of sight underneath. 

 That is all I have ever seen myself on such occasions. 



I would like to remark, in conclusion, that it speaks 

 volumes for the honesty of gamekeepers and others that no 

 , attempt has been made to earn Mr. Broadhurst's and other 

 rewards by killing a mother adder, and then inserting 

 several of the young into her throat and tying them inside. 

 It can be done without difficulty. The only time I tried 

 the experiment four young were easily shoved down, and I 

 might have put in one or two more if I had had them. 



SOME SCOTTISH ROTIFERS, WITH DESCRIP- 

 TIONS OF NEW SPECIES. 



By JAMES MURRAY. 



PLATES II. AND III. 



IT is proposed in this and following papers to give an 

 account of some of the Rotifers recently found frequenting 

 mosses and hepatics in various situations. 



The greater number were found in the concave leaves 

 of Sphagnum^ many were obtained from the pitchers or 

 hollow leaves of Frullania and other hepatics growing on 

 trees or dripping rocks, while a few were got among moss 

 from the sides of horse-troughs. 



The method of collecting those living among Sphagnum 

 was to gather a handful of the moss from the shallower and 

 dirtier bog-pools and place it in saucers with water in a 

 moderately warm room. Usually a number of species were 

 found when the moss was freshly gathered, which soon after 

 disappeared, being apparently unable to endure the changed 

 conditions. Others only appeared after some days or weeks. 

 These were presumably hatched from eggs. Some of them 



