128 



HA RD WICKE' S SCIENCE- G OSSIP. 



the Edinburgh Botanical Society, Mr. A. Hassall, upon 

 the recommendation of Borrer and Jenner, opened up 

 a correspondence with Mr. Ralfs, asking his assistance 

 in naming or identifying specimens that he may at 

 times find. It was agreed that the "Conjugatae" 

 should be the special study of Mr. Hassall, and that Mr. 

 Ralfs should take up the desmids and diatoms. It 

 was also agreed that neither should interfere with the 

 other's work. Hassall's letters were constant and 

 numerous, sometimes seven being received in as many 

 days. The arrangement went on pleasantly for a 

 considerable period, until Mr. Borrer, in the course 

 of a letter, incidentally asked Mr. Ralfs if he had 

 heard of Hassall's prospectus for a " History of the 

 British Fresh-water Algae, including Descriptions of 

 the Desmids and Diatoms." A copy of the "pro- 

 spectus " was not sent to Mr. Ralfs, with whom he 

 had been corresponding, for some time after its ap- 

 pearance. Borrer's letter came as a thunder-clap 

 upon Mr. Ralfs, who wrote to Hassall, and severed 

 the epistolary connection. In answering Mr. Borrer's 

 letter, Mr. Ralfs, in a moment of anger, declared, 

 ijiter alia, that he had a good mind to write a book 

 on the desmids. Borrer made no immediate reference 

 to the "threat," and it had faded from Mr. Ralfs' 

 thoughts when he received a remarkable " re- 

 minder." This was in the form of a letter from 

 Borrer, not only urging him to prosecute the notion 

 of writing an exhaustive history of the desmids, but 

 enclosing a list of names of all the most eminent 

 scientific men of the day, who had expressed, iina voce, 

 their willingness to support such a work from Mr. 

 Ralfs' pen. Further than this, Mr. Borrer enclosed 

 two ;^io Bank of England notes to cover the initial 

 expenses. 



( To be cojicluded.) 



ORGANISMS IN CHEMICAL SOLUTIONS. 



I 



N the following paper is given a brief account, or, 

 I should better say, a number of suggestions as 

 to the nature of a few organisms, found in some 

 chemical solutions : 



1 . Solution of Sodium-Hydrogen Tartrate in strong 

 Nitric Acid. — Several bottles containing this solution 

 had swimming in them, and partly also attached to 

 the inner surface of the glass, a dark -brown fluffy 

 mass. This turned out to consist of an entangled 

 mass of septate hyphse. They seem to be representa- 

 tives of an arthrosporous bacteriad, of which Fig. 86 

 shows the zoogloea-stage. Fig. 85 shows a bit of the 

 ordinary mucelium. In Fig. 87 spores are apparently 

 being formed, whilst Fig. 88 shows the germination of 

 spores or zoogloes;, most likely of the latter. 



2. Photographic Solution of 13 parts of Bromide 

 of Ammonium in 63 of Water. — In this solution 

 likewise an entangled mass of hyphaj was present. 

 A number of the latter occasionally, for a good 



Fig. 87. X 580. 



Fig. 88. X 580. 



Figs. 85-88. Organisms in solution of sodium-hydrogen tartrate 

 in strong nitric acid. 



distance, run in the same direction, and thus form 

 long strands, which again are entangled with each 



