i883.] 



MICROSCOPICAL JOURNAL. 



II 



ing it are constantly changing their 

 grouping, and the result of these 

 changes is manifested in the phenom- 

 ena of life. 



The same observer explains the 

 production of starch, cell-walls, etc., 

 by an ingenious hypothesis founded 

 upon his observations. Wherever a 

 membrane is to be formed about a 

 mass of protoplasm, proteid bodies, 

 which he designates microsomata, 

 arrange themselves in abundance in 

 a layer, and from these the membrane 

 is formed. The protoplasm seems to 

 be first converted into proteids, and 

 these in turn disappear while cellulose 

 takes their place. In this way, the 

 layers of starch granules are formed 

 by the conversion of proteid sub- 

 stance derived from the protoplasm 

 of the starch-bearina: cell into starch. 



Volvox Globator. 



Mr. N. E. Brown, of Kew, has 

 communicated the following note to 

 an English Journal : — 



" This interesting microscopic plant 

 is, according to the experience of my- 

 self and some other microscopists, a 

 most difficult one to keep for any length 

 of time, but as I have at length found 

 out a way to keep it, others may be 

 glad to know the plan. For several 

 years I have collected Volvox, and 

 placed it in large glass and earthen- 

 ware jars, small bottles, open dishes, 

 and other vessels, and exposed it to 

 full sun, or kept it in partial or entire 

 shade, supplied it with rain, pond, 

 and spring water, in turn, but always 

 with the result that after a short time 

 it disappeared. However, on Octo- 

 ber 7, 1878, I collected from a pond 

 on Earlswood Common a small quan- 

 tity, probably not more than 100 indi- 

 viduals, in a 4-0Z. bottle, having a 

 mouth three-quarters of an inch in di- 

 ameter ; this I placed on a shelf at 

 the side of an outhouse, which had no 

 guttering, so that the rain in running 

 off the roof could drip into the bottle ; 

 here it has remained until now, nearly 

 thirteen months, and instead of the 



few original specimens they are now 

 abundant. I have never changed or 

 replenished the water, only that which 

 dripped naturally from the roof into 

 the bottle has been added to the 

 original stock, and during the abun- 

 dant rains we have had this year the 

 bottle often overflowed. I have sev- 

 eral times taken a portion of the 

 water containing Volvox to place in 

 my several jars and dishes standing 

 in various parts of the garden, but 

 these always died in a short time, 

 whilst those left in the small bottle, 

 treated as above, have remained in 

 perfect health, and multiplied. The 

 position in which the bottle is placed 

 faces the north, so that it only gets 

 the sun in the early morning of the 

 summer months. It may be worth 

 recording that, during the severe 

 weather of last winter, the water con- 

 taining Volvox was several times fro- 

 zen into a solid mass of ice, but appar- 

 ently without injuring the Volvox. 

 Although I have carefully looked 

 several times every month since I 

 have had the Volvox, I have never 

 seen any indication of the antheridia 

 and oogonia, so well figured and de- 

 scribed in Cohn's Bcitrage, i.. Part. III. 

 p. 93, t. 3. Has any one observed 

 them in this country ? Cohn says the 

 autumn is the time when these are 

 developed." 



Volvox can be preserved for weeks 

 in-doors in a small bottle placed in a 

 cool place near a window, with a 

 spray of Nitella or Anacharis. 



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The index of Vol. III. was publish- 

 ed last month and sent with the De- 

 cember number. A glance through 



