176 THE NORTHERN MICROSCOPIST. 
various stages, and it was only in a very few cases that this could be satisfactorily 
done, as it took a long time to watch them through their life cycle; and he 
mentioned that certain enthusiastic investigators had taken turns of six hours 
each at the microscope to watch the birth, life, and death of this minute animal, 
and that was the only way of getting perfect knowledge of it. It was just ob- 
servable with the naked eye. It was continually changing its shape. It had 
no stomach, no mouth, and in fact ‘‘no nothing.” It took in food through an 
opening in its surface, which closed up immediately after. There was an oval 
or round substance in it which was somewhat firmer than the rest, and that was 
called the nucleus. There was a little space near the edge which, if watched, 
would be found to disappear and reappear with great regularity, and this was 
supposed to perform the functions similar to the heart in other animals. There 
was a great deal of fascination in watching this animal, which was one of the 
simplest forms of life. 
He next described the Hydra, or freshwater polype. It resembled the Amceba 
in having a nucleus, which was of horseshoe shape, and a contractile vesicle. 
He described this animal in detail, and also the Vorticella, or bell animalcule ; 
the Stentor, or trumpet animalcule ; and the Rotifer, or wheel animalcule. 
The Chairman proposed a vote of thanks to Mr. Carpenter for his address. 
The Rev. E. Hale, in seconding the proposition, suggested that anyone 
working with a microscope should, if he found anything worthy of notice, bring 
it to the next meeting, and should make notes of time and circumstances under 
which they were seen. This would help others to know where certain things 
could be found, and help further discovery. 
LETTER TO. DHE EDITOR. 
Microscopic Flora and Fauna. 
S1r,—-If I may be granted a few lines in your extremely interest- 
ing journal, I would like to call the attention of your readers, more 
especially of the Secretaries of Societies, to the vast amount of 
good which must accrue to the whole generation of microscopists 
by the publishing of lists of objects to be found in various 
localities. 
This may be done in several ways; but I conceive there is no 
better plan than by following the style in which the ramble of the 
Manchester Microscopical Society is reported on page 119 of the 
May number—there are no superfluous words; all is to the point, 
and tells exactly what is required: first, the direction in which the 
ramblers went, and second, the game they bagged. 
There is another way of accomplishing the same end, and that 
is by means of notes such as that on pond-life, on page 123, signed 
R. G., and on the previous page by Mr. Thos. Brittain. If every 
district into which THE NORTHERN MICROSCOPIST goes was written 
up in this manner, the journal would be of the greatest assistance 
to the student. 
I am, &c, i Ie «Be 
