44 



SCIENCE-GOSSIP. 



NOTES OF A HOME NATURALIST. 

 By Mrs. Emily J. Climenson. 



A S my last article was on Hydra fiisca, I 

 "^ will put in a few notes as to further 

 experience of them since last writing. On Feb- 

 ruary 19th, Hydra No. 2 had fastened on a large 

 Daphnia shefferil which evidently contained eggs ; 

 to swallow such a large honne bouche the mouth of 

 the Hydra was enormously enlarged and the edge 

 resembled the convolution of a convolvulus flower. 

 Later in the day the Hydra had swallowed the 

 Daphnia, but was greatly distended, the shape of the 

 water-flea being plainly discernable inside, and the 

 body of Hydra nearly transparent. Now since that 

 I have seen some of my other Hydra feeding, 

 notably on the occasion of Hydra No. 2 making 

 such a "square meal," as the Yankees say; she 

 presented a much darker appearance, a sort of 

 chocolate brown. She actually began to bud on 

 February 20th ; the next day the bud had tentacles. 

 On February 23rd a second bud formed, and mother 

 and buds were a dark colour contrasted to the 

 other Hydra in the same glass, who were cream 

 colour. This may be taken as an evidence of the 

 effect of a good diet. 



Another observation is that every Anacharis leaf 

 (the favourite Hydra weed, apparently) gradually 

 loses all chlorophyll, or green matter of its leaves, 

 which become a yellow tissue. Even the stalks, 

 where Hydra has long been attached, are sensibly 

 impaired in colour ; from this one would deduct 

 that the sucker or base of Hydra either derives 

 nourishment, or its inherent poisonous nature kills 

 the chlorophyll. The Hydra become, too, so like 

 the bloodless leaves that they are most difficult to 

 find. I also notice that when the water-spider 

 tumbles round, the Hydra lay themselves against 

 the leaves till they look part of them. Is this to 

 avoid notice ? That they are marvellously pro- 

 tected by their resemblance to the duckweed-roots 

 and faded Anacharis stems is evident to any daily 

 observer. 



On February 24th the cold became great here ; 

 ice formed in the bottles. To evade this all were 

 covered with net ; but on 26th the cold was so 

 intense I brought the Hydra bottle indoors, and 

 had to set it near the fire to unthaw, and afterwards 

 in the window. All the other aquaria were 

 covered with glass, rugs, etc., and despite of the 

 cold and ice at the top and at sides of glass no 

 inmates died. The Hydra looked very poor and 

 weak after the unfreezing process. They were 

 restored to outdoor life on the 2gth, but some seem 

 to have died. Out of seven I had, I only perceived 

 three. They may have been eaten. I also brought 

 in an omnium gatherum jam-jar into the drawing- 



room, recently obtained for amusement. In look- 

 ing by candle-light at it on the 26th, out of a mass 

 of Spirogvra, etc., I perceived six pink mites the size 

 and colour of a pale pink coral-stone in a gipsy 

 ring. Whether they were prejudiciously influenced 

 by the first frost, subsequent heat, or by inmates of 

 bottle, in two days all were gone except two, whose 

 exquisite colour had departed, they being a dusky 

 white ; these too succumbed. In the same bottle, 

 mingled with the Spirogyra, was an exquisite little 

 plant of a dark blue-green, looking like beads 

 strung together. I placed this apart in a small 

 glass globe. On placing a portion under a micro- 

 scope the fronds represented the appearance of a 

 lovely miniature horn wort (pondweed), with dark 

 spots or cells. I have never seen anything like it 

 before, but from my books I conclude it is Bactra- 

 chospemum monoUforme. I have it now living in a 

 jar with a little duckweed. 



In the aquaria (of which I have thirty-four of 

 various sizes full just now) in a jam-bottle, a 

 creature nearly three inches long, like a rounded 

 piece of barley-sugar, with white segments or rings 

 is to be seen. The basal disc has fourteen white 

 legs, the hood-like head appears to have two white 

 eyes or suckers. It is generally attached to the 

 side of the glass or a weed by suckers, waving 

 about apparently seeking prey. Sometimes it 

 holds by head and sucker to weed, like a root 

 suspended in ■ the air. When it walks it loops like 

 the looper caterpillars, almost pressing its head 

 down by its basal sucker. In another bottle I 

 have a sort of similar three-inch blackish animal, 

 striped like a tabby cat, the structure of which 

 resembles the barley-sugar animal, but with this 

 important difference, that it assumes the elongated 

 ovate form of a leech at periods, and adheres 

 tightly to the glass. On moving it, it progresses 

 like the former animal, but elongates itself into a 

 bar for repose at the bottom of the jar. 



The last two days countless small tealeaf- 

 looking cadises, as mentioned before, are hurrying 

 round like a steamer in motion. As they get older 

 they become perfectly quiescent, and are evidently 

 a, lot of cadis, but of what I have not yet found 

 out, though I am watching further development. 



A squirrel, who pays daily visits to the garden, 

 was exceedingly troublesome lately in climbing the 

 big lime-tree opposite my writing table, nibbling 

 off and stripping branches innumerable, but the 

 last week or so has ceased, perhaps finding other 

 occupation. 



Shiplake Vicarage, Oxon ; 



March 22nd, 1896. 



