14(3 MARVELS OF POND-LIFE. 



After leaving the Anacbai'is in a glass jar for a 

 few days, the Stentors multiplied exceedingly ; some 

 clung to the sides of the vessel in sociable com- 

 munities, others hung from the surface of the water, 

 and crowds settled upon the stems, visibly changing 

 their tint, as the Stentor green was much bluer 

 than that of the i)lant. Scores swam about in all 

 sorts of forms. Now they looked like cylindrical 

 vessels with expanding brims, now globular, now 

 oddly distorted, until all semblance of the original 

 shape was lost. In many cases they were found 

 in shiny tubes, but these were never so lively or 

 green as the free swimmers, but mostly of a dingy 

 dirty hue. 



These housekeepers were more timid and cautious 

 than the roving tribe. fhey came slowly out of 

 their dens, drew back at the slightest alarm, never 

 took their tails from home, and only extended their 

 full length when certain not to be disturbed. Some 

 authors have thought they only take to private 

 lodgings when they feel a little bit poorly, but 

 others dispute this opinion, and I do not think it 

 is correct. I have found these Stentors at all 

 seasons, from January to the autumn, but they are 

 never so numerous, nor aggregated in numbers like 

 the roving sort. Whether they are old folks, who 

 are tired of the world and its gaieties, and devote 

 the remainder of their lives to contemplation, or 



