114 ROMANCE OF LOW LIFE AMONGST PLANTS. 



of the waters " narrates that this phenomenon 

 occurs at certain seasons of the year in Ellesmere 

 and some of the other Shropshire meres, which the 

 people in the neighbourhood are accustomed to call 

 " breaking- of the water," or " breaking of the mere." 

 To a stranger these terms are somewhat misleading, 

 as they appear to suggest a violent agitation of the 

 water, or its bursting through its banks, whereas 

 the phenomenon resembles the breaking of wort in 

 the process of brewing, causing a discoloration of the 

 water, rendering it unfit for consumption, and spoiling 

 the fisherman's sport. In its normal condition the 

 water is pure and limpid, perfectly suitable for 

 domestic purposes, but when it "breaks" it becomes 

 turbid, from the formation of small dark-green bodies, 

 in countless thousands, which not only float as a 

 scum on the surface, but abound throughout the 

 whole of the water. The change is so apparent that 

 it cannot escape the notice of the most careless ob- 

 server. On examining the floating matter of Elles- 

 mere, the green bodies composing it are found to be 

 rather smaller than a turnip seed, spherical in form, 

 and of the deep green colour familiar to us in the 

 rust of copper. Their specific gravity must be nearly 

 the same as that of the water, which will account for 

 their rapid dissemination throughout it when dis- 

 turbed, and rising to the surface when at rest. This 

 mere abounds in fish, and is much frequented in the 

 proper season by anglers, but as soon as the breaking 

 begins all sport invariably ceases, and the fish become 

 torpid, refuse the bait, and sulk at the bottom. 

 Whether this curious effect upon them is caused by 



