CHAPTER 11. 



JANUARY. 



The winter months are on the whole less fa- 

 vourable to the collection of microscopic objects 

 from ponds and streams, than the warmer portions 

 of the year; but the difference is rather in abundance 

 than in variety, and with a very moderate amount 

 of trouble, representatives of the principal classes 

 can always be obtained. 



On a clear January morning, when the air was 

 keen, but no ice had yet skinned over the surface 

 of- the water, a visit to some small ponds in an 

 open field, not far from Kentish Town, provided 

 entertainment for several days. The ponds w^ere 

 selected from their open airy situation, the general 

 clearness of their water, and the abundance of ve- 

 getation with Avhich they were adorned. Near the 

 margin, confervas abounded, their tangled masses of 

 hair-like filaments often matted together, almost 

 with the closeness of a felted texture. At inter- 

 vals, minute bubbles of air, wdth occasionally a few 

 of greater size, indicated that the complex processes 



