CHAPTER VI 



PLANT LIFE IN PONDS AND STREAMS 



IN this chapter we shall confine ourselves to the 

 true water-dwelling plants, as distinct from 

 those, such as the water lilies, which though 

 never found growing on dry land, appear undecided 

 whether they will be water plants or land plants. 

 Looking at the matter from a more scientific point 

 of view, all our pond plants will be much lower in the 

 scale of development than the water lilies and other 

 flowering plants. 



Pond life is rich in subjects for the microscopist. 

 Any stagnant pool may contain organisms which 

 will delight the naturalist who has always depended 

 upon his unaided vision. Curiously enough, amongst 

 the most wonderful of all these pond-dwelling plants 

 are the Diatoms, which consist of but a single cell. 

 They are so numerous, they exist in so many different 

 forms and in so many different situations that were 

 we able to describe them all, we should require 

 :he whole of a large volume, much larger than this. 

 In colour, Diatoms are usually brown or brownish, 

 ilthough they contain chlorophyll, the green colour- 



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