208 LORANDE LOSS WOODRUFF 
In every drop of water examined, squeezed from the grass or obtained 
by its simple application to the glass slide, animalcules in their most . 
active condition were found to beliterallyswarming . . . . Their 
purpose in life, as in the case of the animalcules inhabiting artificial 
infusions, is to break down and convert into new protoplasmic matter 
shis otherwise waste product). . Tomaintain the balance here, 
however, and to check the too rapid i increase of the various herbivorous 
monads, we find other types . . . . developed side by side with 
and feeding in turn upon the plant-eating species. 
Following Kent’s method, I have examined grass from the cam- 
pus wet with dew and light rain, and have obtained substantially 
the same results. Active forms of various flagellates, chiefly 
monads, and ciliates such as Colpoda, Chilodon, ete., were ob- 
served swimming in the moisture on the blades of grass. I have 
not found them in such great abundance as described by Kent, 
but still in sufficient numbers to make an interesting demonstra- 
tion. Goodey, also, in his recent study of the Protozoa of the 
soil found a number of active forms among the surface vegeta- 
tion. 
A. EXPERIMENTS 
Twenty-four hay infusions were made up, and kept in a well 
lighted room in the laboratory at room temperature. Twelve 
contained hay cut near the laboratory, and twelve practically 
pure timothy hay from a farm near New Haven. These two sorts 
of hay were designated, for convenience, Y and T respectively. 
Each infusion consisted of about 5 grams of hay in 1 liter of tap 
water, and was contained in a flask with a capacity of 1500 ce. 
These infusions were divided into four groups of from four to eight 
infusions, and in each of these four groups, half of the flasks con- 
tained Y,and half T hay. The fourgroupsof infusions were desig- 
nated by the letters, A, W, H and WH respectively. 
A Infusions. In this group of eight infusions the hay was put 
into the various flasks and then subjected to seven pounds pres- 
sure of steam for one hour in an autoclave. The water was like- 
wise subjected to the same conditions and when it had again 
4A contribution to our knowledge of the Protozoa of the soil. Proe. Royal 
Society, Series B, vol. 84, 1911. 
