46 THE AMERICAN MONTHLY [ March, 
by the use of my dredge was fairly rich in foraminifera, every drop examined 
containing more or less, sometimes half a dozen living specimens, generally 
of the spiral varieties. 
The refuse organic matter of this material was almost entirely of animal 
origin, and was more difficult to get rid of than the vegetable refuse of fresh- 
water gatherings. On reaching home with my material I attempted the water- 
washing process, previously published in this ,/owrnzal by Dr. George H. 
Taylor, of Mobile, Ala.* I placed about a pint of material in a quantity of 
fresh water, but found it very slow to settle; if I poured off the water too 
hastily I should lose a large proportion of the diatoms. After the second 
washing the material refused to settle at all, and was rapidly becoming 
offensive. I therefore stirred in a small quantity of chromic acid, which 
soon changed the previous black color to a light grey, and precipitated all 
the material in a compact form. The after-cleaning was by an original pro- 
cess of my own, of which I will hereafter give particulars in a future paper. 
Colonial Radiolarians.7 
The thirteenth volume of the monographs of the Naples ZoGdlogical Station 
contains an account of the Spherozoa or colonial radiolarians by Dr. Karl 
Brandt. The monograph treats of these forms under the four heads :— 
(1) Morphology, (2) Biology, (3) Reproduction and Development, and (4) 
Systematic ; and in its exhaustive historical survey and independent investiga- 
tion, as well as its wealth of illustration, well supports the character of the 
splendid series. From the nature of the group the number of new results 1 is 
not, of course, very great. 
I. Morphology. — After a general introduction and historical sketch of 
the progress of our knowledge of the Spherozoa, Dr. Brandt proceeds to a 
morphological survey. (1). Zhe protoplasm.—The central protoplasm differs 
physically and chemically frem the peripheral. The latter consists of pseudo- 
podia and assimilative protoplasm darkened by super-osmic acid. The cen- 
tral substance is not so darkened, and this is but an index to other differences. 
(a) The central substance is divisible into two masses: the inner surround- 
ing the oil globules, the nucleus, containing vacuoles in spore formation, as 
also pigment granules and large crystals; the outer surrounding the nuclei. 
(6) Zhe cortical substance often contains abundant granules, while the 
central contains none, or vzce versa. It consists, as noted above, of assimi- 
lative and of pseudo-podic protoplasm. (2). Zhe zuclez.—In the vegetative 
period the nuclei are homogeneous. Those of the isospores are doubly’refrac- 
tive, which probably expresses a very fine differentiation. Those of the 
anisospores and of the intra-capsular bodies formed in the young vegetative 
colonies are further differentiated. The phenomena of nuclear division in 
the anisospores of Collospheridze appeared to be very simple. (3). Zhe 
central capsular membrane is regarded as homologous with the cell wall. 
In some vegetative colonies it appeared to be absent, but even then the central 
and cortical protoplasms were not exactly continuous. Pore canals were 
observed in Collosphera huxley¢. The membrane cannot be detected during 
or after the escape of the swarm-spores. (4). Zhe oz/ globules appear early 
and remain till the close of the vegetative life. In very young colonies and 
in the swarm-spores they are represented only by fine granules. Only in one 
form is there more than one large globule in each individual. The author 
doubts the existence of an albuminoid basis, and regards the enclosed sub- 
* See vol. vi, p. 
t Copied from a icurera in Journ. R. Micr. Soc., 1887, p. 102. 
