CHAPTER IV. 



MARCH. 



The Paramecin^ noticed in the last chapter, have 

 increased and multiplied their kind without any fear, 

 lest the due adjustment between population and food 

 should fail to be preserved. A small drop of the 

 scum from the surface of the water in their bottle is 

 an astounding sight. They move hither and thither 

 in countless numbers, seldom jostling, although as 

 thick as herrings in a tub, and in many portions 

 of the field the process of self-fissure, or multipli- 

 cation by division, is going on without any symptoms 

 of discomfort on the part of the parent creature. 

 This is an interesting sight, but w^e will not linger 

 over it, for the sun is shining, and there is enough 

 warmth in the air to make it probjible that the 

 ponds will be more prolific than in the cohl winter 

 months. Sunshine is a great thing for tlie micro- 

 scopic hunter; it brings swarms of creatures to the 

 surface, and the Rotifers are especially fond of 

 its genial beams. Even if we imitate it by a briglit 

 lamp, we shall attract crowds of live dancing specks 



