April, 1902.] 



KNOWLEDGE. 



91 



weiffhing and discussion, we were well provisioned with 

 well-cured fish and good bread, the driest we could obtain, 

 since it was lighter and less likely to turn mouldy than 

 when wet 



After much packing and weighing the loads for the 

 carriers were apportioned, and we were ready to start. 

 But the four men ordered some hours before at the 

 " station " did not arrive. We visited the place in force 

 and found the house full of drunken men, who would 

 listen to nobody. The chief man's wife bemg the only 

 sober person in the house, we cautioned her that we 

 should write a protest in the book kept for the purpose, if 

 the men were not produced in one hour. As they did not 

 appear at that time we bombarded the station again, 

 and forcing our way in j«rrote the protest and said that 

 we should telegraph to the Governor if the men were not 

 forthcoming in another hour. We had no intention of 

 thus disturbing his Excellency, and were much relieved, 

 when foiu" men appeared, to find that the threat had been 

 sufficient. Another hour was wasted by the carriers in 

 wrangling over the weights of their loads, but at last at 

 nine p.m. we started, and were accompanied to the out- 

 skirts of the village by the entire population, men, women 

 and children. Scarcely had we shaken the mud of 

 Kandalax from our feet when one of the station men, who 

 reeled suspiciously in his walk, threw down his loail and 

 amidst yells of delight from the crowd and shouts of 

 imprecation from us, staggered back to the village. 

 Fearing that other men would desert if we delayed for 

 long so near the village, we called for a volunteer, and a 

 man stepped out from the crowd. We made terms with 

 him, he shouldered the load, and then and there, without 

 the slightest preparation set out for a mouth's journey. 



The path lay at first up hill over rough, stony ground, 

 but our men, notwithstanding their heavy loads, kept up 

 a good pace. The baggage was fastened to a carrier placed 

 on the bick aud strapped to the shoulders. The carrier 

 was simple and effective. It consisted merely of a jjiece 

 of supple green wood lx?nt in a loop and crossed by a net- 

 work of cord. We were fast forgetting the drunken orgie 

 at Kandalax, and the annoyances of the start. Here and 

 there a peep through the dark pines revealed the Neva, 

 whose name is Swift, rushing down to the sea iu one 

 continuous boiling rapid. Occasionally the silvery trunk 

 of a birch tree, or a group of bright green larches broke 

 the monotony of the pines, while the rocky ground was 

 thickly clothed with hoary reindeer moss aud a thousand 

 small creeping plants. Our binoculars and guns were ready 

 to be levelled on any bird to be seen as we marched ahead 

 of the carriers trudging in single file along the narrow 

 track. 



But, alas, our peaceful state was once again to be dis- 

 turbed. Gregori came panting up to us saying that one 

 of the station men was bad and was getting worse and 

 worse. On turning back we found that the man was 

 desperately tipsy, and it was evident that he had a bottle 

 about him, but we could not discover it. He continually 

 fell down and lav moaning and groaning. Walking 

 behind this wretched man and treating him like a stub- 

 born donkey, we managed to drive him a mile or two, but 

 at length he sank down and refused to budge. As he lay 

 on the ground we caught sight of a bottle sticking out of 

 his trouser pocket. This he refused to give up, so Gregori 

 • Kokorin promptly broke it with a stick. The drunkard 

 then proceeded with great deliberation to pick the broken 

 pieces from his pocket, and finding that there was still 

 some precious vodka left in the bottom of the bottle, he 

 would have drunk it had I not kicked it out of his hands. 

 At that he burst into sobs, and getting up he threw down 

 his load and staggered oil into the woods. This man was 



a type of the grasi)ing drink-sodden Russian peasant, no 

 uncommon class in the part of the country we visited, and 

 when afterwards we found that he was the chief man at a 

 station further on, we wrote down his character in the 

 book for the benefit of the officials who employed him. 



One great advantage of the perpetual daylight of the 

 north is that one can sleep and eat just when it is most 

 convenient and necessary. On the first day, or rathfer 

 night, of travelling we raised our tent and turned in to our 

 sleeping bags at four o'clock iu the morning and were 

 soon dreaming, not of drunken obstreperous men, but of 

 all the charming birds we might be destined to discover 

 in the country that lay before us. 



PRESERVING AND MOUNTING ROTIFERA. 



By Charles F. Rousselet, Curator, B.M.S. 



For killing and fixing several fluids are suitable, namely, 

 i per cent, osmic acid, or Flemming's chromo-aceto-osmic 

 fluid, or Hermann's platiuo-aceto-osmic mixture. On the 

 whole, 1 now prefor the last-named, which gives a finer 

 fixation of the cellular elements of the tissues and does 

 not stain them so much. It may be explained that the 

 term " fixing " implies rapid killing and at the same time 

 hardening of the tisues to such an extent as to render 

 them unalterable by washing and subsequent treatment 

 with preserving fluids. Proper fixation is very essential, 

 as no good preservation can be obtained without it. 



When the Rotifers are narcotised and ready for killing, 

 a single drop of one of the above fixatives is added, and 

 mixed with the water in the watch glass. A few minutes 

 is sufficient for fixing small creatures like these, and then 

 thev must be removed again by means of the pipette to 

 several changes of clean water to get rid of the acid, 

 otherwise they will become more or less blackened. When 

 dealing with marine Rotifers, sea-water must be used for 

 washing out, as the difference in density between fresh and 

 sea water is sufficient to cause swelling by osmosis, and the 

 consequent spoiling of the specimen. After thorough 

 washing, the Rotifers are transferred to a preserving fluid, 

 the density of which does not materially differ from that 

 of water. ' The best preserving fluid found so far is a 2^% 

 solution of formalin, which is made by mixing 2^ c.c. of 

 the commercial 40 °/o formaldehyde with 37^ c.c. of water, 

 and then filtering. 



The above are general directions according to which the 

 great majority of Rotifers can be preserved. When under 

 the narcotic, the animals must be watched until it is seen 

 that they can swim but feebly, when, as a rule, they will 

 be ready for killing. If they contract and do not expand 

 again, it is a proof that the narcotic used is too strong, 

 and it must be further diluted. The whole method un- 

 doubtedly requires great care and is a delicate operation, 

 which must be performed under some kind of dissecting 

 microscope, but by following the directions here given, and 

 with some perseverance, any one can learn to prepare a 

 large number of species of Rotifers. I would advise that 

 a beginning should be made with some such forms as 

 Brachionus, Anurtea Synchceta, Asplanchna, Hydatiiia, 

 Triarthra and Polt/arthra, which are easy, and moreover 

 occur, and can, as a rule, be collected in large numbers 

 A few genera, however, are exceptionally difficult. These 

 are Stsphanoceros, Flonciiles, PhUoclina, Rotifer and 

 Adineta, and it will be better to leave these until con- 

 siderable experience in dealing with the others has been 

 acquired. 



It will have been noticed that the Rotifers must always 

 remain submerged in a watery flui<l, and be transferred in 

 a drop by means of the pipette. Fluids of lesser density 



