374 The Naturalist of Cumbrae. 



be readily procured by scraping the sides or bottom of the 

 pool with the ring of the net. In order to reduce the bulk as 

 much as possible, all the impalpable mud should be washed 

 thoroughly away till the water runs off clear. This can be done 

 either in the working net, or in a separate bag of the same 

 texture without the hoop. If the contents are to be examined 

 in the dry state they may at once, after the water has well run 

 out, be put into a small bag and labelled. In all cases, when 

 the water has to be pressed out, it is better to do so in a 

 separate bag or cloth of stronger texture, as the thin muslin 

 working net is apt to give way in that operation. The label is 

 best preserved when enclosed in a small wooden needle-case 

 and put into the bag. To provide for the examination of the 

 soft animal tissues, the whole or a portion of the material may 

 be put into a bottle with spirits. When it is desirable to study 

 the habits of the living animals, the gathering may be taken 

 home in water in an eight or ten ounce bottle, and transferred 

 to a white shallow vessel, where the animals can be well seen. 

 and their various movements observed. In this state the life- 

 appearance of parts of the animal can be more satisfactorily 

 made out than after they have been either dried or preserved 

 in spirits. 



"It may be further remarked that the washing away of all 

 the impalpable mud is of great importance, independently of the 

 reduction of bulk, because, where the mud is retained, it sets 

 in drying as a cement, and becomes hard and difficult to 

 dissolve. When thoroughly washed, the vegetable residue 

 requires only to be dried in order to be ready for examination, 

 thus avoiding the operation of ' floating,' which never can be 

 done successfully where there is much vegetable matter, as is 

 generally the case in fresh- water gatherings, which comes to the 

 surface along with the microzoa. Therefore floating can only 

 be done with advantage when there is much heavy material to 

 be got rid of that will sink to the bottom, as sand or gravel. 

 When the material requires to be 'floated/ it has first to be 

 well dried, and then placed in plenty of water and well stirred. 

 The heavy material will then sink, and the light buoyant 

 microzoa come to the surface, where they can be skimmed off, 

 and drained through a sufficiently fine sieve. The skimming 

 and stirring may with advantage be repeated several times. 



