258 * Transactions of the Society. 



The study of the fresh- water Ciliates of this locality has been 

 continued, and the forms met with are recorded. Very little work 

 having been previously done on the fresh- water Protozoan fauna of 

 India, most of the forms encountered are being recorded for the 

 first time from any part of India. The best thanks of the writer 

 are due to Lieut.-Colonel J. Stephenson, D.Sc, I.M.S., Principal 

 and Professor of Zoology, Government College, Lahore, for the 

 guidance and encouragement he lias always received, and for 

 great assistance in obtaining a number of books and periodicals 

 dealing with Protozoa, but for which the work could not have 

 been undertaken. 



Lahore is situated in the plains of the Punjab (India, latitude 

 31° 34' K, longitude 74° 21' E., height above sea-level 706 feet), 

 and experiences extremes of temperature conditions in its hot and 

 cold seasons. The principal rainfall of the year takes place in the 

 months of July and August, and this is followed by a period of 

 drought, in which most temporary collections of water dry up. 

 The majority of the pools examined were only temporary collec- 

 tions of water after rains, some being only a few centimetres deep. 

 Samples of water from some of the artificial ponds, such as the 

 tanks in the Shalamar Gardens and the duck-ponds in the Zoo, have 

 also been examined. Protozoan life seems most abundant at Lahore 

 in the summer season, i.e. from May to September. The specimens 

 obtained were mostly studied in the living condition either under 

 a small cover glass or as hanging-drop preparations, aud as a rule 

 a preliminary examination of a sample of water was made, with 

 the aid of a centrifuge, on the same day that the water was 

 collected. For slowing the movements of rapidly moving forms, 

 the mucilage obtained by soaking Ispaglvul seeds (seeds of Flantago 

 ovata) was found to give very satisfactory results. This mucilage 

 can be readily obtained in varying degrees of consistency, and has 

 the further advantage of being perfectly transparent. It can be 

 added directly on the slide to tlie drop of water containing the 

 Ciliates, or the seeds are spread at the bottom of the tube in a layer 

 about 1-2 cm. high, and the culture containing the Ciliates poured 

 on to them to the height of 8-10 cm., when in a day or two by 

 the diffusion of the mucilage into the culture a proper consistency 

 is obtained. 



Of the reagents commonly used, I have employed : (1) for 

 fixing, concentrated solution of corrosive sublimate, liot or cold ; 

 sublimate alcohol (concentrated watery solution of corrosive, 2 parts, 

 90 p.c. alcohol, 1 part) ; or vapour of 4 p.c. osmic acid solution — 

 all of which gave good results ; (2) for rendering cilia distinct, a 

 1 p.c. solution of alum ; and (3) for staining, ])rincipally acetic- 

 methyl green, washing it out with water to which a few drops of 

 liquor ammonia? have been added. 



The forms met with are recorded below, with brief notes on 



