2 JOURNAL OF THE [January, 



tain new forms therein mentioned, at the earliest possible moment. 

 With that idea I have made repeated visits to the locality in search 

 of specimens, although as yet without result. On one of those 

 visits, that of July 17th, however, I took comfort to my soul, for 

 on peering into the canal I perceived a form which, from its gene- 

 ral aspect and enormous numbers, I at once jumped to the con- 

 clusion was my long-desired C. coronata. But on transferring a 

 colony to one of my bottles for closer examination, to my amaze- 

 ment I found that instead of C. coronata I had C. lacustris, about 

 the very last form I should have expected. In the paper referred 

 to, on these two forms, I have said that after the most painstaking 

 and diligent search I was only able to find one solitary specimen 

 of C. lacustris — and that by accident — amongst the tens of thousands 

 of C. coronata. But here I had before me C- lacustris enough to 

 supply every microscopist in the world to his heart's content and 

 a few millions of millions over ; for although prospecting only on 

 one side of the canal for convenience, it was, for a couple of miles 

 at least, literally lined with it. Wherever there was a resting- 

 place there were the tiny but beautifully branched stems of C. la- 

 custris. That I was pleased, nay, delighted, goes without saying, 

 and dreams of a thorough side-by-side comparison of the two 

 forms rose before me, being now sure that, as I had had the good 

 fortune to find C. lacustris, I should find C. coronata also. 



1% \.\\Q.XQ any unmixed ]q-^ va. \\Vi% world? I pressed the cup of 

 joy — not canal-water — to my lips, but the pleasure was evanes- 

 cent, being soon embittered by disappointment ; for, after two 

 hours' careful sea,rch, C. corojiata was still " conspicuous by its ab- 

 sence." I could not find even one solitary specimen to console me. 

 On reaching home I prepared a tank for my new capture, filling it 

 entirely with the water obtained in this expedition — about a gal- 

 lon — and looked forward to a grand distribution during the week 

 amongst the members of the New- York Microscopical Society and 

 other friends, even going so far as to make a careful list of those 

 who I knew would value it. Alas ! now followed my second dis- 

 appointment. I had reckoned without my host. The next day my 

 collection looked queer, and I thought it best to defer my distri- 

 bution. And well it was for my friends I did so. For in three or 

 four days C. lacustris was defunct and the water vile enough and 

 black enough for Styx. 



