FLOSCULARIDJE. 173 



found that about eighty hours elapsed before their organs were all 

 developed. 



Limnias Ceratophylli, or Water- Nymph, is of this family, and is 

 about one-twentieth of an inch in size, residing in a white transparent 

 cylindrical case, one-half the length of the animal ; which being glutinous, 

 becomes of a brownish colour, from the adhesion of extraneous matter. 

 Its rotatory apparatus is divided into two lobes, possessing vibrating 

 cilia, as well as a singular projecting angular chin. The Water Nymph, 

 when young, is said to have two red eyes; but they fade away as the 

 term of their existence draws to a close. The body of the animal is 

 fixed to the bottom of its little horn; and, by means of the attach- 

 ment, it can retire on the slightest symptom of danger, or protrude 

 itself out of it in search of that sustenance requisite to its existence. 

 In the rows of little eggs seen in the body of the parent may clearly 

 be distinguished many of the particular organs in a state of activity. 

 From its fondness for hornwort, it often receives the name of that 

 plant. 



Floscularia Ornata, or Elegant Floscularia, is a beautiful type of this 

 family, and has its rotatory organs divided into several parts ; when it 

 draws itself into a small compass, its transparent covering becomes 

 wrinkled. This forms an interesting object, as its internal structure 

 can be well seen through the translucent sheath that constitutes its 

 dwelling. The little beings are very rapacious, although but the 108th 

 part of an inch in size. 



Floscularia Probosddea, or Horned Floscularia, has six lobes 

 fringed with cilia shorter than in the preceding kind. The name that 

 distinguishes it arises from a kind of horn or proboscis, also having 

 cilia, that is placed in the centre of the lobes. The eggs cast off by 

 the parent are seen in the sheath, and are very pretty objects for 

 microscopic observation. In fact, the tinted case, the light ethereal 

 frame of the tiny animal, and the various colours of the food in the 

 stomach, combine in rendering it deeply interesting. 



Melicerta Eingens, or Beaded Melicerta. Among the Melicerta, or 

 Honey floscularia, this is the most beautiful. Its crystalline body is 

 first enclosed in a pellucid covering, wider at the top than the bottom, 

 of dark yellow, or reddish-brown colour, which gradually becomes 

 encrusted with zones of a variety of shapes, glued together by some 

 peculiar exudation that hardens in water : it is these little pellets that, 

 appearing as rows of beads, give the name to the animal. 



Mr. Gosse has given an excellent account of the "architectural 

 instincts of Melicerta Ringens" which is not only truly surprising, but 



