1916.] Pond Life in the Punjab. 143 



lacustris, subsp. reticulata, Annandale; (4) Australella indica, 

 Annandale; (5) Two unidentified species of Daphnia ; (6) 

 Insect larvae of Chironomus and Anopheles, various species. 



Hydra oligactis, as was observed, reproduces very actively by 

 means of buds ; this budding was observed to be the common 

 rule, even daughter buds being formed by the buds while still 

 attached to the parent form ; this activity was continued from 

 the middle of August to the beginning of November, when 

 however all the individuals taken were without buds, being 

 sluggish and rather smaller than those taken in September or 

 October. Unfortunately after this time no more individuals 

 could be got from the ponds, in which I had found them in 

 abundance before, and all the individuals in my aquarium died, 

 Hydra being the most difficult object to keep alive in captivity 

 under artificial conditions. But it appeared that the indivi- 

 duals were at this stage preparing for the sexual phase to pro- 

 vide against the approaching winter; when, as in the European 

 countries, they would produce the gonads, and later the ferti- 

 lized eggs with a spiny covering. These eggs would lie dormant, 

 till more favourable conditions set in for them to develop. 



Regarding the Sponges (Spongilla carteri and Spongilla lacus- 

 tris subsp. reticulata), it was seen that they flourish quite well 

 from July to October, when the whole of the sponge mass be- 

 gins to die, leaving the Spicule skeleton intact with a very large 

 number of gemmules with their special coating of spicules 

 entangled in it. Such dried sponge masses of Spongilla carteri, 

 even as large as a man's head, are common sights at Ferozpore 

 on the banks of the dried-up pools in December. These lie in 

 this condition till the middle of June, when with the return of 

 favourable conditions the gemmules germinate and cover up 

 the old spicule skeleton with a new coating of the sponge sub- 

 stance ; fresh sponge masses are also formed at this time from 

 germinating stray gemmules. 



In Polyzoa my observations were made on a new curious 

 gelatinoid Polyzoon, Australella indica, Annandale, which I found 

 for the first time at Lahore and later on at Ferozpore. This 

 form, which is usually found infesting the leaves and stems of 

 aquatic weeds, was seen to flourish from the beginning of July 

 to the end of October, when it begins to die after producing free 

 statoblasts (the only kind produced by this form) in large 

 numbers. In November and December some individuals were 

 >till living, though the mass had died, but in January no 

 individuals at all were living and the decayed gelatinous mass 

 was full of statoblasts. 



From the above it is clear that special devices like spiny 

 eggs, gemmules and statoblasts are developed on the advent of 

 the unfavourable conditions. 



oted 



budding 



