Marvels of Pond-Life. 31 



and hunt out the little hollows among the furze and 

 fern. One looks promising from the bright green 

 vegetation to be discovered under the sheet of ice, 

 which is almost firm enough to bear human weight. 



Breaking a convenient hole we hook up some of the 

 water-plants, and place them in a wide- mouthed vial, 

 which we fill with water, and cursorily examine with a 

 pocket-lens. Some water-fleas briskly skipping about, 

 and a beautiful little beetle, with an elegant dotted 

 pattern on his brown back, and a glistening film of air 

 covering his belly, show that we have not been unsuc- 

 cessful, although we must wait till we get home to 

 know the extent of our findings, among which, however, 

 we can only discern the graceful spiral shell of a small 

 water-snail, the Planorbis. 



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 beautiful 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 

 varnish or marine glue to an ordinary glass slide. 

 After an object has been placed in one of them, a little 

 water is taken up in the dipping-tube, and the cell 



