m 



THE AMERICAN MONTHLY 



[May, 



water with decaying vegetation from 

 Sovith Florida. 



Usually the prominent acumination 

 projects suddenly from the rounded 

 extremity ; with other individuals 

 from the same infusion the part more 

 gradually tapers from the body. The 

 movements of the zooid are rapid, 

 irregular, and difficult to follow^. The 

 structure can be satisfactorily studied 

 only after death by poisoning, or when 

 the animalcule is taking food. In the 

 latter case the body is shortened and 

 bi-oadened, while the oral aperture 

 is greatly dilated, easily engulfing, as 

 repeatedly witnessed, the compara- 

 tively large Chilomonas paramce- 

 cium Ehr. 



Vorticella Floridensis^ sp. nov. 

 (Fig 17). 



Body conical-campanulate, chang- 

 able in shape, less than twice as long 

 as broad, very finely striate trans- 

 versely ; peristome exceeding the 

 body in width, the border everted 

 but scarcely revolute ; ciliary disc 

 elevated ; pedicle three or four times 

 as long as the body, the muscular 

 thread stout ; endoplasm colorless, 

 finely granular ; contracted body sub- 

 pyriform, the posterior extremity 

 invaginate. Length of bod}' ^\^ 

 inch. Habitat. — Standing water 

 from the cvpress swamps of South 

 Florida. 



The change in the form of the 

 body consists chiefly of elongation 

 and compression with irregularly 

 developed lateral depressions. 



Cothurnla Ca n t h oc a )u p t /, sp. 

 nov. (Fig. 18). 



Lorica ovate somewhat gibbous, 

 less than three times as long as broad, 

 widest centrally, the anterior border 

 truncate, not everted, the aperture 

 circular ; pedicle straight or slightly 

 curved, transversely plicate, from one- 

 third to one-fifth the length of the 

 lorica ; enclosed zooid transversely 

 striate, attached posteriorly by a 

 short continuation of the external 

 foot-stalk ; when expanded, only the 

 peristome border usually extending 

 beyond the lorica. Length of sheath 



-^\-^ inch. Habitat. — On Caittho- 

 camptiis 7ni7tutus. 



This differs from C. astaci Stein, 

 which it somewhat resembles, in the 

 absence of eversion of the anterior 

 border, the transverse striation of 

 the cuticular surface, and in the very 

 short distance to which the expanded 

 zooid extends beyond the lorica mar- 

 gin. In size the two are very similar. 

 o 



Mosses.* 



The mosses are humble plants, but 

 they have no insignificant part to 

 play in the economy of Nature, or in 

 the coloring of the landscape ; trees, 

 rocks, and old ruins lookgrand un- 

 der their covering ; whilst the va- 

 rious species of Sphagnum, wdiich 

 grow in boggy places, perform an 

 imjDortant part in the formation of 

 turfy soil. These aquatic mosses 

 grow very rapidly, so as in a very 

 short time to occupy the whole of 

 the pools which they inhabit. The 

 genus P//asc2(m are very minute 

 species, found plentifully in fallow 

 fields, but the large family of Hyp- 

 nums are the most conspicuous, and 

 often elegant plants, commonly seen 

 on tree trvmks, old \valls, &c. The 

 mosses can be gathered all the year 

 round, although they vary in their 

 period of flowering ; for example, 

 the Ftinaria is always in good con- 

 dition for examination ; on the other 

 hand, the Phascitvi blossoms in early 

 summer, and is ripe in the autumn, 

 but the Hvpnum^ in many instances, 

 takes twelve months to form the ma- 

 ture capsule, or theca. 



The specimen selected for exami- 

 nation is the Funaria hvgrotnetrica 

 L. First make a section of the stem 

 (fig. 10), and compare with any vas- 

 cular crvptogam, such as the fern ; 

 it will be seen to differ widely, in the 

 absence of vascular bundles. In most 

 mosses we find an outer layer of thick 

 walled cells which passes into a mass 

 of tissue in the centre. These are not 

 sharply defined, and are said to per- 

 form the function of a vascular bun- 



* Reprinted from Science Gossip. 



