20 MARVELS OF POXD-LIFE. 



peatiiig the process, and making another move. He 

 has a kind of snout, behind which are two little 

 red eyes, and something like a pig-tail sticks out 

 behind. This is the Common AYheel-bearer, Rotifer 

 vulgaris^ a fiivoiirite object with microscopists, old 

 and young, and capable, as we shall see, of doing 

 something more interesting than taking the crawl 

 we have described. 



A higher power, say one or two hundred, may 

 be conveniently applied to bring out the details of 

 the inhabitants of our live box more completely; 

 but if the glasses are 'good, a linear magnification 

 of sixty will shew a great deal, with the advan- 

 tage of a large field, and less trouble in following 

 the moving objects of our search. 



Having commenced our microscopic proceedings 

 by obtaining some Euglen^, Vorticell^, and a Rotifer, 

 we are in a position to consider the chief charac- 

 teristics of three great divisions of infusoria, which 

 will often engage our attention. 



It is w^ell known that animalcules and other 

 small forms of being, may be found in wfiisions 

 of hay or other vegetable matter, and hence all 

 such and similar objects were called Infusoria by 

 early observers. Many groups have been separated 

 from the general mass comprehended under this 

 term, and it is now used in various senses. The 

 authors of the "Micrographic Dictionary" employ it 



