204 THE AMERICAN MONTHLY [Nov 



the unassisted eye. It is rare and grows on rotten wood, 

 generally amid a mass of black dirt. To properly see 

 the plant it is necessary to soak for a Jong time the wood 

 on which it grows and then to remove the specimen by 

 the aid of a dissecting microscope. 



Physcomitrium immersum. — This is one of the Bryer- 

 acesB, true mosses. The plant is so small that it makes a 

 pretty mount for a two or one inch objective. It should 

 be mounted so as to exhibit the leaves, with their mar- 

 ginal yellow cells, the male flowers on young plants, the 

 calyptra and the immersed subglobose capsules. 



Daphnella tuckermanii. — This is a very strange ani- 

 mal. The genera belongs to the Anulosa Arthropoda 

 Crustacea, Cleodocera, a single eye, intestine simple, no 

 black spot in front of the eye, Daphnidae, six pair of 

 legs, 2x2 jointed branches of the antennae. The species 

 was named by C. M. Vorce, in honor of a leading physi- 

 cian of Cleveland, The animal is a frequent denizen of 

 the filterings of The Great Lukes, but is generally de- 

 stroyed in the filter and is wholly disintegrated when 

 pressed by a covered glass. It may generally be found 

 floating on the surface of a gathering and should then be 

 mounted in a rather deep cell for examination. In such 

 a cell, filled with a dilute aqueous mixture of glycerine, 

 it can be preserved indefinitely. It was figured in "The 

 Microscope," some years ago. When examining filter- 

 ings with a quarter inch objective, the fins of this animal 

 are frequent and furnish a pretty and puzzling objects. 



Amphigastria. — In most liver mosses (Hepaticse) there 

 is frequently a third row of leaves on the under side of 

 the stem called "under leaves" or Amphigastria. These 

 strange leaves are always along the stem and generally 

 in a different focus from the other leaves. They are of 

 specific importance and are exceedingly interesting. 

 The determination of their morphology and utility will 

 be a valuable scientific achievement. 



