1896.] MICROSCOPICAL JOURNAL. 245 



In places where the bed was soil, Lobelia cardinalUs, L. 

 and Chelone gladra, L. were in blossom. The cardinal 

 flower was in abundance and the bright red blossoms 

 seemed to pick it out from a distance and show it to be 

 one of the most beautiful even more so than the culti- 

 vated flowers of our gardens. I thought how the bee 

 and other insects that pick it out for fertilizing could 

 see it from a great distance, especially .whe,n contrasted 

 with the green of the leaves surrounding it and be 

 guided to it by its brilliant flowers. The chelone is 

 white, purple and can not be distinguished for afar. 

 Still it can be found by insects and its closed flower be 

 opened by the bee. The meteoric paper, so called, is 

 described by Ehrenberg-in a paper read before the Ackad- 

 emie of Berlin, in 1839, entitled Ueber das, 1686, in Cur- 

 land vom Himmel gefall, Meteorpapier und seine Zusam- 

 mensetzung aus conferren u. Infusorien (Diatomee und 

 Desmidieen.) 



An interesting vegetable production, having a decep- 

 tive appearance and resembling white glove leather and 

 was found on a meadow that had evidently been over- 

 flowed by a brook near a wire factory at Schwartzen- 

 burg, in the Erzgebirge in Germany. A green strong 

 gubstance grew where the sun shone in the meadow ; 

 which the water being slowly let off, deposited itself on 

 the grass and when dried became colorless. It might be 

 removed in large pieces. On the inner side, which was 

 in contact with the water, it has a lively green color and 

 green leaves are distinguishable which have formed the 

 leather-like substance. The outside of this natural produc- 

 tion resembles soft dressed glove leather, or fine paper, 

 the printing kind ; and is shining, smooth to the touch, 

 and ("f the toughness of common wrapping paper. Eh- 

 renberg submitted this meadow leather to a microscopic 

 examination, and found it to consist of conferva3, form- 



