1880.] 



MICROSCOPICAL JOURNAL. 



53 



surface of the water, or attached to 

 the siil)merged grasses, stems, or de- 

 bris along the shore. If they are 

 found upon the surface, it is advisa- 

 ble to take home a good supply and 

 immediately shake it out in some 

 clear water, so as to wash out the dia- 

 toms or desmids that it may contain. 

 This water should then be placed in 

 a shallow dish, a saucer or a soup- 

 plate, and exj)Osed to sunlight. The 

 dirt will soon settle, and in the 

 course of a few hours the desmids 

 or diatoms will rise to the surface, 

 quite free from other matter. In 

 this way very clean gatherings can 

 be obtained. Last spring we col- 

 lected such a quantity of desmids 

 {Closterium) one afternoon, that the 

 next morning we skimmed oif from 

 the saucer enough to cover the bot- 

 tom of a two-dram homoeopathic 

 vial, to the depth of over a quarter 

 of an inch, after the cells had set- 

 tled in the water. Many persons 

 fail to succeed in this experiment ; 

 they find their diatoms will not rise 

 as they anticipated, but the fault is 

 not with the diatoms — a bottle is 

 not a suitable dish for them to live 

 in, and the experiment is usually 

 tried with a bottle. Put the plants 

 in a shallow dish, so that a large 

 surface will be exposed to the air, 

 and success will follow if the dia- 

 toms are alive. 



Continuing the search for Algse, 

 look at any places where water 

 trickles down over the face of yoc\- 

 ledges. Yery likely there will be 

 found an abundance of diatoms in 

 the brownish-colored, jelly-like coat- 

 ing on the rocks, or mingled with 

 the iilamentous Algse {Conferva^ 

 IJlothrix, Oscillaria, etc.), which 

 are frequently found there. In 

 swiftly -running streams very beauti- 

 ful Alga? are often found. 



In searching for forms of animal- 

 life, rather more apparatus is desi- 

 rable than is needed for Algse, but 



in no case should it be considered 

 essential. It is advisable to possess 

 a cane with a telescopic joint, hav- 

 ing a screw for attaching a bottle, a 

 net and a hook ; of all these we 

 consider the hook the most generally 

 serviceable attachment, for an abun- 

 dance of microscopic animals can 

 be pulled up with water-weeds and 

 Algse, and freed l)y shaking the lat- 

 ter in a bottle of water. A collect- 

 ing-bottle is very useful for securing 

 such forms as Daphnia, Cyclops, 

 Cypris, etc., and this can be made 

 as follows : 



Choose a common tumbler — those 

 that jellies are sold in are very good 

 — and select a good cork large 

 enough to fit it well (druggists 

 usually have such large corks on 

 hand ).' Take a 2-in. (or smaller) glass 

 funnel and pass the neck through 

 the centre of the cork, from the 

 lower side, and pass the neck of a 

 similar funnel through the cork 

 from the opposite side. Tie a bit 

 of line Swiss muslin or lawn over 

 the mouth of the first funnel, put 

 tlie cork into the tumbler and the 

 ap]^aratus is complete. By pouring 

 water into the upright funnel, the 

 tumbler will soon be tilled and the 

 excess will flow out, after being 

 Altered by the fabric through the 

 inverted funnel. The upper sur- 

 face of the cork can be covered 

 with sealing-wax varnish, which 

 will greatly add to its appearance 

 and also make the bottle air-tight. 

 Another way of making a collect- 

 ing-bottle will be given next month. 



To use such a bottle, dip up the 

 water containing the animalcules 

 and pour it into the bottle until 

 enough has been strained to make a 

 good collection, pour out most of 

 the water, then remove the cork 

 and put the sj^ecimens in another 

 bottle, after which the collecting- 

 bottle is again ready for use. We 

 have used one precisely like that 



