44 MARVELS OF POND-LIFE. 



Breaking a convenient hole we liook up some of 

 the water-phmts, and place them in a wide-mouthed 

 vial, which we fill with water, and cursorily examine 

 with a pocket-lens. Some water-fleas briskly skip- 

 ping about, and a beautiful little beetle, with an 

 elegant dotted pattern on his brown back, and a 

 glistening film of air covering his belly, shew that 

 we have not been unsuccessful, although we must 

 wait till we get home to know the extent of our 

 findings, among which, however, we can also discern 

 the graceful spiral shell of a small water-snail, the 

 Planorhis. 



Arriving at home the bottle was left undisturbed 

 for some hours in a warm light place, and then 

 on being examined several specimens of that beau- 

 tiful polyp, the Hydra viridis^ were seen attached 

 to the glass, and spreading their delicate tentacles 

 in search of prey. One of the polyps is carefully 

 removed by the dipping -tube ^ a small glass tube, 

 open at both ends. The fore-finger is placed upon 

 the top, and when the other end is brought over 

 the object the finger is raised for an instant, and as 

 the water rushes in the little hydra comes too, and 

 is placed in a glass cell, about half an inch wide 

 and one-tenth of an inch deep. These cells are 

 obtained from the opticians, and cemented with var- 

 nish or marine glue to an ordinary glass slide. 

 After an object has been placed in one of them. 



