70 CMSTATELLA MUCEDO. 



for such of his readers as take his advice, since he quotes from 

 the " Ingoldsby Legends " to try and comfort those who suffer 

 annoyance in their pursuits from the vulgar stare of unconcerned 

 onlookers. The hero is there described as one who 

 " Would pore by the hour 

 O'er a weed or a flower, 

 Or the slugs that come crawling out after a shower ; 

 Still poking his nose, into this thing or that, 

 At a gnat, or a bat, or a cat, or a rat. 

 Or ugly great things, 

 All legs or wings, 

 With nasty long tails arm'd with nasty long stings." 

 But I can assure my readers that nothing of the kind need be 

 indulged in, for I have made very successful hauls of Cristatdla 

 by drawing the weeds from the water at the end of an ordinary 

 fishing-line. The gelatinous colony is soon recognised, and you 

 have only to bottle it and carry it home for quiet examination 

 with the microscope. The drawing from Allman (Plate X.) is a 

 very truthful representation of the colony as seen in the height of 

 summer, attached to a spray of Ranunculus aquatilis. Drawn 

 from the water, the weeds are anything but attractive : the debris 

 of decaying vegetation often covers them^ and gives a rusty-brown 

 appearance ; but microscopists know well that within the bosom 

 of these unattractive, dirty-looking plants, marvellous life is 

 hidden, and as we run our eyes over them here and there the 

 colonies of Cristatella are manifested by the slimy, glutinous 

 masses encircling the stems. Place one of these beneath the 

 glass, adapt the spot-lens, and throw a strong light upon it. A 

 world of beauty will soon unfold itself to view. These Cristatella; 

 are the least shy of all their family. A Plumatella you must leave 

 sometimes for hours before it will venture cautiously to unfold its 

 • tentacula, and the slightest tap upon the stage Avill suffice to 

 make it snatch them back into their mysterious home ; but 

 Cristatella loves the light, and almost as soon as one can arrange 

 the glass it floats across the field its snowy, pearl-like arms, and all 

 the water is moved in gentle currents before their enchanting 

 sway. It is life, curious and mysterious, fulfilling its proper 

 destiny subject to Nature's laws. These wonderful creatures 



