304 Microscopic Life. [Sess. 



of some dizzy cliff in half a gale, while attempting to obtain a 

 picture of the nest and eggs of a raven, an eagle, or a peregrine 

 falcon. The weather in the nesting-season is often severe, and 

 rain, hail, and sleet, separately or together, must frequently be 

 faced. But the reward, when a successful photograph of the 

 nest of some rare species is obtained, compensates for many 

 disappointments. 



[A large number of photographs of birds' nests and their 

 eggs were then thrown on the screen, and Mr Eaeburn was 

 highly commended for the labour he had undertaken in this 

 important branch of science, and for the most successful 

 results he had obtained.] 



II.— MICROSCOPIC LIFE. 



By Miss SPEAGUE. 



(Read Dec. 22, 1897.) 



About three and a-half years ago my father and I began to 

 study microscopic life together. At first we used simply to 

 collect specimens, and content ourselves with looking at them, 

 and identifying them when we could, which was not very 

 often; but in October 1894 we bought a book with blank 

 pages, and began to record our finds, both by drawings and 

 written descriptions. For some time we found it very hard 

 work to identify the various objects we came across ; but we 

 gradually became familiar with them, partly by finding them 

 repeatedly, and partly by reading and consulting books on the 

 microscope. Those we have found most useful are the ' Micro- 

 graphic Dictionary,' Cooke's ' Ponds and Ditches,' Carpenter's 

 ' Microscope and its Eevelations ' (edited by Dallinger), Cooke's 

 ' British Fresh-water Algae,' and the Bev. J. G. Wood's 'Common 

 Objects of the Microscope.' 



We have obtained most of our specimens from hunting- 

 grounds near at hand, such as the water-trough in the Queens- 



