170 THE CANADIAN NATURALIST. [JuDC 



small whirlpool, into which the uDfortunatc monads are drawn in 

 and engulphed into its stomach. It is of a beautiful blue colour, 

 and is found in ^reat abundance at times on the tops of ponds? 

 ■which look then as if the water was covered with coal dust. 



On taking another drop of water from the aquarium, with 

 more of the vegetable matter, we observe other and different 

 creatures, resembling snakes, twisting and entwining each other in 

 their folds : these are called Lurcos or Gluttons. They are well 

 named, for they are very voracious, feeding on animal and 

 vegetable life ; their bodies are aunulose, or composed of rings 

 havin*'- hair-like processes on each segment, which enables them to 

 move at out with considerable quickness; their mouth is capacious 

 and ciliated ; the intestinal canal is plainly seen, and their food 

 can be well observed through their transparent bodies. \^ c have 

 seen them devour rotifers, monads, bell animalcules, and other 

 species; in fact, they refuse nothing. They are produced from 



eggs. 



That slipper-shaped species is very common, and found in great 

 numbers : it can be seen by the unassisted eye as a tiny speck 

 coursing across the animalcule cage. It is called the Chr\'salis 

 animalcule (^Paramecium af/relia.) It is ciliated all round the 

 sides of its body, and moves about very swiftly ; it is like a por- 

 poise in a shoal of herrings — dashing here and there, devouring 

 the smaller species, such as monads, in all directions. It under- 

 goes many changes, and assumes many shapes during its metamor- 

 phosis ; it is produced by fission as well as from the egg. 



That restless little fellow with four horns is Cyclops quadricor. 

 nis. The only way to get a good look at him is to bring a little 

 pressure to bear by giving the cover of the live-box a slight 

 squeeze so as to keep him still. lie is very active, and measures 

 about the sixteenth of an inch in length. His head is furnished 

 with four antenuai or horns, and the creature is provided with 

 five pairs of feet, and a long tail, which is terminated by bristles. 

 It has, in the centre of its forehead, a single red eye — hence the 

 name Cyclops, after Vulcan's Workman. The legs of the Cyclops, 

 at each of the joints, are furnished with hairs, evidently to help 

 the creature in swimming, as is is also the case with aquatic 

 beetles. The female carries two ovaries at the extremity of the 

 abdomen, where the eggs are hatched, and, on the young leaving 

 these sacs, they fall off. The young, according to Carpenter, 

 undergo five changes in their development. 



