120 



aquatic JLitt 



tightly sealed jar, which contained a body 

 of water an inch and a half deep and 

 two inches in diameter. Six were thus 

 grown, and in due time reached maturity 

 and spawned, though measuring but a 

 sixteenth of an inch across the widest 

 part. One deposit contained five ova, and 

 to remove it the jar was opened for the 

 first time. The eggs were hatched in a 

 much larger vessel and eventually the 

 resulting animals grew to the normal size 

 for the species. Later, when placed with 

 other and normal specimens, they could 

 not be distinguished. 



It must be mentioned that the annular 

 Planorbis grew in company with normal 

 Jap snails, as well as with the ever- 

 present Physa, neither of which exhibited 

 any departure from the type. Lime in the 

 form of plaster of paris had been added 

 from time to time for the benefit of the 

 desired Japs, and, of course, the others 

 likewise profited. From this fact it is 

 evident that there must have been a weak- 

 ness of shell peculiar to the Planorbis. 



Biologists have conducted experiments 

 similar to that with Physa, and the results 

 with other organisms have been similar. 

 Bearing this fact in mind, the aquarist 

 with a limited purse should not hesitate 

 to purchase small specimens for breeding 

 if the stunting has been brought about by 

 small quarters. Succeeding generations 

 need not inherit the dwarfish size, and 

 dealers naturally will not charge as much 

 for such small individuals. 



The Bladderworts 



We have in England two varieties of 

 water-plants known as bladderworts, 

 both of them veritable death-traps. For- 

 tunately for tiny fish fry and other 

 minute aquatic animals, they are some- 

 what rare and local. On the other hand, 

 as they inhabit ponds and gentle streams, 

 they are particularly well placed to do the 

 maximum amount of mischief. 



Attached to the plants are many small 

 bladders of a purple tint. These bladders 

 serve two purposes — as buoys to the 

 leaves and as traps for small aquatic ani- 

 mals. 



The trap is formed in such a manner 

 that an entrance is particularly easy ; not 

 so the way out. No eel trap is more cun- 

 ningly devised. 



An eel-trap is a human contrivance de- 

 void of life and power to assist in effect- 

 ing a capture. The bladderwort is a thing 

 possessing vitality and cunning. 



There are many traps on each plant, 

 and if an examination be made it will be 

 found that all or nearly all contain a vic- 

 tim. The plant never lacks for food. 



Many long and careful investigations 

 have been made respecting the harmful- 

 ness of the bladderworts, and in some 

 cases every trap contained a little fish. — 



Fishing Gazette. 



•* 



Trainer Simpkins was telling some ad- 

 miring ladies how he first discovered that 

 Teddy, the famous Mack Sennett dog, 

 has brains. "I had an armchair in which 

 I always liked to sit," he said, "but 

 Teddy, even as a pup, also showed a 

 fondness for it, and it became a habit 

 that I had to drive him from the chair in 

 order that I might sit down. One day I 

 had a bright hunch, so, stepping to the 

 window, and, peering out intently, I cried 

 out, 'Cats ! cats !' Teddy made a bound 

 for the window and I grabbed the chair. 

 A few days later came the sequel. I was 

 in the chair reading a book when Teddy 

 strolled into the room. He looked at me, 

 and then ambled over to the window. 

 Suddenly his fur ruffled up stiff and he 

 began to growl. I tossed my book aside 

 and dashed to the window, and, will you 

 believe it, that dog made one leap and 

 landed in my chair." 



Too many men are measured by the 

 size of their bank accounts. 



