MICROSCOPICAL OBSERVATIONS. 5 



CEDAR HILL, ASHLEY RIVER. 



Dec. 15th, 1849.— At Mr. D wight's plantation, (Cedar Hill,) I found growing 

 abundantly on stems of grasses in the river, Bostrichia scorpioides and Deles- 

 seria Leprieurii Mont., two species of Algse which I have found in all our estuaries 

 from the Hudson to Tampa Bay. In company with them in the Ashley River, I 

 found — 



Achnanthes brevipes, Ag. Meloseira nummxiloides, Kg. 



Bacillaria paradoxa, Ehr. 



In fresh water ditches, at the same place, I found the following Algse, viz : 



Vaucheria cespitosa, Ag. Spirogyra decimina, Kg. 



with the following Diatomacea?, viz : 



Bacillaria paradoxa, Ehr. Pinnularia viridis, Ehr. 



Diatoma Ehrenbergii, Kg. Surirella splendida, Ehr. 



Himantidium arQus, Ehr. 



IWIDDLETON PLACE, ASHLEY RIVER. 



Dec. I6th, 1849.— In an artificial pond or reservoir at this locality, I found a 

 great variety of interesting objects, among which were the following — 



Desmidie^. Desmidie^e. 



Ankistrodesmus falcatus, Corda. Staurastriim gracile, Ralfs. 



Arthrodesmus convergens, Ehr. " muticum, Breb. 



incus, Breb. Xanthidium cristatum, Breb. 



Cosmarium margarifenim, Menegh. — 



Docidium verrucosum, B. Infusoria. 



Euastrum elegans, Breb. Arcella vulgaris, Ehr. 



Pediastrum eUipticum, Hass. " dentata, Ehr. 



heptactis, Menegh. Lepadella ovalis, Ehr. 



Napoleonis, Menegh. ' Monostyla lunaris, Ehr. 



Scencdesmus quadricauda, Breb. Peridinium cinctum, Ehr. 



Sphaerozosma excavatum, Ralfs. Rotifer vulgaris, Schrank. 



* " serratum. B. Squamella oblonga, Ehr. 



SAVANNAH, GA. 



December, 1849.— I had long entertained the belief that the earth of rice 

 fields, from its frequent submergence, must contain a considerable quantity of 

 infusorial remains ; and on visiting Savannah, I gladly availed myself of the op- 

 portunity to determine the truth of this supposition. The amount of infusorial 

 remains which I detected far exceeded my expectations, but to my surprise I 

 found that a large portion of the remains were of forms which only inhabit salt 

 or brackish waters. Many of these forms are large enough to be seen by means 

 of a pocket Coddington lens, and indeed it was thus that I first detected the 

 infusorial character of the earths referred to. The large triangular Triceratium 

 favus, Ehr., and the circular discs of Coscinodiscus subtilis, Ehr., may thus be 

 seen in considerable numbers on the surface of every fresh fracture of the earth 

 thi'own from the rice-field ditches. 



