AQUATIC PLANTS USEFUL TO THE MICROSCOPIST. 



CHAPTER II. 



COMMON AQUATIC PLANTS USEFUL TO THE MICROSCOPIST. 



Ranunculus. Nymphaea. Myriophyllum. Utricularia. Cerato- 

 phy Hum. Lernna. Anacbaris. Vallisneria. Sphagnum. Ric- 

 cia. 



THERE are several common plants floating freely in 

 the water, or more or less firmly rooted in the mud at 

 the bottom of shallow ponds and slowly flowing streams, 

 that are important to the student of microscopic aquatic 

 life. This may be either through their own interesting 

 or peculiar structure, or on account of the minute plants 

 and animals living among their tangled leaves or at- 

 tached to the stem and other parts, these entangled ob- 

 jects being, therefore, more easily and surely captured 

 by transferring the larger visible growths to a small 

 vessel of water than in any other way. Most of these 

 aquatic plants have their leaves divided into fine, thread- 

 like leaflets. They have " dissected leaves," as the bot- 

 anist names them, and they become the favorite resorts 

 of invisible animals which attach themselves to the nar- 

 row divisions, and feed on the free-swimming kinds that 

 also find the same places attractive. So, if the student 

 desires to gather microscopic material, let him find any 

 of the following plants and he will be quite sure to get 

 what he wants. But he must remember that by lifting 



