COLLECTION OF FORAMINIFERA. 521 



Canadian Laurentians, it seems a justifiable conclusion that this 

 type was very generally diffused in the earlier ages of the earth's 

 history ; and that it had a large (and probably the chief) share in 

 the production of the most ancient Calcareous strata, separating 

 Carbonate of Lime from its solution in the Ocean-waters, in the 

 same manner as do the Polypes by whose growth Coral-reefs and 

 islands are being upraised at the present time. 



401. Collection and Selection of Foraminifera. — Many of the 

 Foraminifera attach themselves in the living state to Sea-weeds, 

 Zoophytes, &c. ; and they should, therefore, be carefully looked-for 

 on such bodies, especially when it is desired to observe their in- 

 ternal organization and their habits of life. They are often to be 

 collected in much larger numbers, however, from the Sand or Mud 

 dredged-up from the sea-bottom, or even from that taken from 

 between the tide-marks. In a paper containing some valuable 

 hints on this subject,* Mr. Legg mentions that, in walking over 

 the.Small Mouth Sand, which is situated on the north-side of Port- 

 land Bay, he observed the sand to be distinctly marked with white 

 ridges, many yards in length, running parallel with the edge of 

 the water ; and upon examining portions of these, he found Fora- 

 minifera in considerable abundance. One of the most fertile sources 

 of supply that our own coasts afford, is the Ooze of the Oyster-beds, 

 in which large numbers of living specimens will be found; the 

 variety of specific forms, however, is usually not very great. In 

 separating these bodies from the particles of Sand, Mud, &c, with 

 which they are mixed, various methods may be adopted, in order 

 to shorten the tedious labour of picking them out, one by one, 

 under the Simple Microscope ; and the choice to be made among 

 these will mainly depend upon the condition of the Foraminifera, 

 the importance (or otherwise) of obtaining them alive, and the 

 nature of the substances with which they are mingled. — Thus, if 

 it be desired to obtain living specimens from the Oyster-ooze, 

 for the examination of their soft parts, or for preservation in a 

 Vivarium, much time will be saved by stirring the mud (which 

 should be taken from the surface only of the deposit) in a jar with 

 water, and then allowing it to stand for a few moments ; the finer 

 particles will remain diffused through the liquid, while the heavier 



the case of these, however, as in that of the Connemara Marble, it is ob- 

 vious that the rock has undergone very considerable metamorphic action ; 

 so that its originally Organic structure has in great degree given place to 

 a purely Mineral arrangement, as has occurred in numberless other cases. 

 And he believes that the objections taken by Profs. King and Rowney to 

 the doctrine of the Foraminiferal character of Eozoon, have been mainly 

 suggested by their having especially studied one of its most altered and 

 least characteristic forms, and having had comparatively little opportunity 

 of examining the Canadian specimens in which the evidences of Organic 

 structure are most unmistakable, and of comparing their characters 

 with those of other Fossil as well as Recent Foraminifera. 



* "Transactions of Microscopical Society," 2nd Series, Vol. ii. (1854), 

 p. 19. 



