104 



MARVELS OF POND-LIFE. 



His unties were those of a posture-master, or ''Pro- 

 fessor of Deportment" on stilts. Sometimes he stood 

 bolt upright, bringing his legs close together; then 

 they were jauntily crossed, and the l)ody carried 

 horizontally; then the two legs would be slightly 

 opened, and the body thro^vn exactly at right-angles 

 to them. These antics were repeated all the while 

 the observation lasted, and had a very funny effect 

 in proving tliat drollery is practised, if not under- 

 stood, in the rotatoi'ial world. 



Pliilodin;!— swimmhis:. 



Another kind of rotifer was abundant — the 

 Philodhid^ which belongs to the same family as the 

 common wheel-bearer, namely, the Philodinwa. The 

 Philodiiift is a good deal like the common wheel- 

 bearer, or Rotifer vulgaris, but is usually of a stouter 

 build, and carries his eyes in a different place. In 

 the common rotifer these organs are situated on tlie 

 ])roboscis, while tliose of the Philodina are lower. 



