146 



THE GUIDE TO NATURE. 



given ; one in January for the finest 

 fish owned by a member, and one in 

 February for the finest fish bred by a 

 member. A silver cup owned by the 

 Society is each year in the custody of 

 the member having the finest house- 

 hold aquarium ; to become his property 

 after three years winning the award : 

 Mr. Frederick Godshall, of Philadel- 

 phia, in November last, won the trophy 

 for the third time and thus retains its 

 possession, although others have held 

 it for a year at a time, each having his 

 name engraved thereon. 



The Society was formed in 1898 and 

 has done much to popularize the aqua- 

 rium and the rearing of the finer breeds 

 of aquarium fishes. The result also of 

 the discussions at the meetings is the 

 production by one of our members of 

 a book that is recognized as the most 

 voluminous and complete work on the 

 subject of freshwater and marine 

 aquaria, the breeding and care of do- 

 mesticated fishes and all kindred sub- 

 jects. This work is profusely illus- 

 trated by the author himself, practi- 

 cally all the drawings having been 

 made from the exhibits at the meet- 

 ings. 



The membership of the Society is 

 not confined to Philadelphia, a num- 

 ber of enthusiasts within a radius of 

 one hundred miles are active mem- 

 bers and frequent attendants at meet- 

 ings. The subject is a wide one and 

 admits of much original research and 

 observation. From small beginnings 

 the proceedings have advanced to sub- 

 jects of considerable importance often 

 involving protracted scientific studies, 

 and much of the work could be applied 

 to the propagation of food fishes, as 

 will be demonstrated from time to 

 time in the report of the proceedings 

 published in The Guide to Nature. 



It is earnestly hoped that some of 

 the readers of this paper will take up 

 the subject and form similar societies. 

 All that the Philadelphia Society has 

 developed is freely offered as an in- 

 centive and guide to equally good 

 results. Every city in the United 

 Stales should have an Aquarium 

 Society; and all that is required 

 to found one is a little advertis- 

 ing in the daily papers; aqua- 



rium fanciers will all be glad to join 

 an inexpensive movement that will re- 

 dound to the benefit of all. The Phila- 

 delphia Society started with a charter 

 membership of eighteen and increased 

 to one hundred and thirty-six during 

 the second season. 



Notes on a Worm Infesting Fresh- 

 water Snails. 



BY WILLIAM T. INNES, JR., SECRETARY 

 AQUARIUM SOCIETY OF PHILADELPHIA. 



In closely scrutinizing some about 

 half-inch long Cape Fear river snails, 

 I noticed a scumlike covering on the 

 exposed parts, the head and neck. 



Upon closer exami- 

 nation I found the 

 animals beset with 

 numerous t i n y 

 worms which appeared like minute 

 white lines attached by the head and 

 hinder parts, similar to leeches, and 

 apparently deriving nutrition from the 

 fluids of the animal which had not the 

 power to dislodge them. 



Upon removing the snails to a glass 

 of water some of the worms became 

 detached and moved about like a geo- 

 metrical caterpillar or measuring 

 worm. 



They proved to be Annelids of the 

 order Oligochreta, genus Chaetogaster, 

 species C. limnxi, and those I ob- 

 served were about 1-20 to 1-10 inch in 

 length, segmented and slightly flat- 

 tened, with a pronounced head and ad- 

 hering bristles on the under side of 

 the body, of chalky white color and 

 possessing considerable power of ex- 

 pansion and contraction. 



C. linuixi was first described by von 

 Baer in 1827, as occurring in Europe, 

 but in 1901 was found infesting a 

 Physa and later a Planorbis snail by 

 \Y. A. Wilcox, of Boston. They are 

 described as occurring on molluscs 

 only at definite periods and are not 

 strictly parasitic but may be useful to 

 their hosts, as Lankaster found their 

 alimentary canal distended with small 

 entomostraca, rotifera and protozoa, 

 all likely to infest snails and other mol- 

 luscs. 



Their reproduction is by budding, 

 and thev usually occur in numbers 



