Marvels of Pond-Life. 



115 



the microscopist will often meet with difficulties in the 

 way of classification. 



Attached to a piece of weed were a number of cylin- 

 drical masses of brownish jelly, with rounded tops, and 

 situated in an irregular and very transparent sheath, 

 about twice as high as themselves. Presently they all 

 rose up to four times their previous height, put forth a 



Vaginicola (?) (A, elongated ; B, retracted.) 



beautiful crown of vibrating cilia, and opened a sort of 

 trap-door to their internal arrangements. In this 

 position they had a long cylindrical form, gracefully 

 curved, but of nearly equal width from the mouth to 

 the base, and they readily imbibed particles of carmine, 

 which tinged sundry little cavities with its characteristic 

 hue. The slightest disturbance caused the ciliary 



