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HA Jin WICKE 'S SCIENCE ■ G OSSIP. 



filamentous stamen, and seed with a copious supply 

 of albumen. 



Having then taken such a glance at the Duckweeds, 

 we might reasonably ask, ' ' What is their place in the 



Fig. 36. Lcmiia iiiiiw, L. : a, entire plant ; /-, inflorescence ; 

 a', spathe ; b, pistil ; c c, stamens (mag.)-. 



Fig. 37. L.gihha, L. : a, plant seen from above ; 

 b, side view. 



Fig. 38. Wolffia: a, anther ; b, pistil ; c, young shoot. 



Fig. 39. L. trisulca, L. (mag.). 



Fig. 40. L. polyrhiza, L. (mag.). 



economy of Nature ? " Several reasons have, and 

 might be, assigned for their existence, but no doubt 

 the most feasible one is, as has already been suggested, 



to protect from the solar light those inferior organ- 

 isms of the animal kingdom which inhabit swamps, 

 and at the same time serve them for food. Whether 



Fig. 41. Grantia jnicroscopica : section showing the 

 filamentous stamen, n, and pistil, b. 



the latter is true or not, the function of protection 

 seems reasonable : for this end, vegetative reproduc- 

 tion would certainly be the best, being much quicker 

 than reproduction by sexual union. 



MICROSCOPY. 



VOLVOX GLOBATOR. — In the spring of last year I 

 found many of these beautiful organisms with very 

 little trouble, and am looking forward to the coming 

 season when I may once again see them. My hunting- 

 ground was confined to two small ponds by the side 

 of the road that leads from Higham Station [S. E. R.] 

 to the village of Shorne, near Gad's Hill, and thence 

 along the old Dover highway towards the other part 

 of Shorne and Gravesend. Now these ponds were 

 certainly not "clear pools on open commons," the 

 habitat usually assigned, nor were they, however, 

 polluted by man's refuse of any kind. In the dippings 

 I brought home, besides the VolvocinejK, I found 

 many of the small crustaceans (and these are sad de- 

 vourers of their vegetal companions) ; but no Rotifer. 

 In another specimen of water from the canal by the 

 side of the railway, I found numbers of rotifers 

 (chiefly Brachiornis aniphiceros) together with some 

 Volvoces. The date of this excursion was neither the 

 fortnight in June, spoken of by your correspondents, 

 but quite new to me, nor after, but was made during 

 the first week in May. Thus the active stage may be 

 found at least from May till July, and of course resting- 

 spores can be found (thougli with greater difficulty) 

 during the rest of the year. At the time stated I met 

 with many active and developing volvoces, but far 

 more abundant were the nearly allied Pandoriiiu:. 

 These, with their cask-shaped colony, their thirty-two 

 gonidia arranged in five parallel transverse bands, the 

 whole revolving on their long axis whilst they move 

 in its direction, are, I think, even more beautiful than 

 their less symmetrical, though spherical brethren. In 

 a pleasant garden - pond in Sussex, I found, last 



