10 Marvels of Pond-Life. 



CHAPTER II. 



JANUARY. 



Visit to the ponds — Confervse — Spirogyra quinina — Vorticella — Com- 

 mon Rotifer — Three divisions of Infusoria — Phytozoa — Protozoa 

 — Rotifera — Tardigrada — Meaning of these terms — Euglense — 

 Distinction between animals and vegetables — Description of 

 Vorticellse — Dark ground illumination— Modes of producing it — 

 The Nucleus of the Vorticellse — Methods of reproduction — Ciliated 

 Protozoa — Wheel bearers or Rotifers — Their structure — The com- 

 mon Rotifer — The young Rotifer seen inside the old one — An 

 internal nursery — " Differentiation " and " Specialisation " — 

 Bisexuality of Rotifers — Their zoological position — Diversities in 

 their appearance — Structure of their Gizzard — Description of 

 Rotifers. 



HE winter months are on the whole less 

 favorable to the collection of microscopic 

 objects from ponds and streams than the 

 warmer portions of the year; but the difference is 

 rather in abundance than in variety,, and with a very 

 moderate amount of trouble, representatives of the 

 principal classes can always be obtained. 



On a clear January morning, when the air was keen, 

 but no ice had yet skinned over the surface of the 

 water, a visit to some small ponds in an open field not 

 far from Kentish Town provided entertainment for 

 several days. The ponds were selected from their open 



