112 



SCIEXCE GOSSIP. 



POND-LIFE IX THE NEW FOREST. 



By G. T. Harris. F.R.P.S., and C. D. Soar. PJLM.S. 



I.tEXERAT. Pojtd-Life. 



TDEEHAPS no one appreciates a visit to a fresh 

 -■- district more than the naturalist, especially 

 when the change is quite distinct topographically. 

 In such a case he may hope to meet with forms in 

 his particular branch of natural history hitherto 

 unknown to him : and possibly many that exist in 

 his own district only as rarities are here quite 

 common, owing to a much more favourable en- 

 vironment. Another point in favour of visiting 

 various, and especially widely differing localities, 

 is that the worker obtains a sounder knowledge of 

 the geographical distribution of the group he is 

 working upon, and the especial conditions under 

 which particular species are found most freely. 



The Easter vacation of 1899 was spent on the 

 Norfolk Broads by the little party of microscopists 

 who annually brave the inclemencies of that early 

 season. Rich and varied is life in the slow-flowing 

 streams and placid expanses of water, whose sole 

 mission now seems that of mirroring the tall 

 rushes and aquatic plants that fringe their sides. 

 The Easter of the present year was spent in the 

 shelter of the New Forest, where patriarchal trees 

 stand close, guarding one from the cold, searching 

 winds of the early English springtime. Brocken- 

 hurst was made our headquarters, and, generally 

 spea k in g , the district around is prolific in - ponds 

 within a radius of five miles. These vary in their 

 character, according to their situation, very advan- 

 tageously to the student of pond-life. Some are 

 deep forest ponds, others roadside duck ponds, and 

 yet ethers the remunerative heathland ponds, a 

 perfect Elysium for the algologist. with their varied 

 and beautiful desmids, and general life of fresh- 

 water algae. Easter is rather too early for abundant 

 pond collecting, especially when preceded by such 

 a cold, dull spring as that of 1900; hence the 

 results obtained on our excursion are not very 

 striking. As, however, it is desirable to know the 

 forms which exist at each period of the year. 

 Easter collecting is not altogether useless: and. 

 again, an even brief record is always useful to 

 succeeding workers. It is a desire that naturalists 

 visiting the New Forest may pay some attention to 

 its varied pond life that has induced us to give in 

 detail our own limited results. 



The Botifera, so attractive a class to the micro- 

 scopist. seem well represented in the Forest ponds. 

 ConocJdlus vol vox. now apparently growing scarce 

 around London, is here in profusion, principally in 

 the clear ponds of the heath lands. A small duck 

 pond near Balmer Green was especially prolific 

 in Kotifers, and contained some particularly fine 



'liaetae. Annurea aculeata seemed to be thc- 

 cosmopolitan of the Forest, for it occurred every- 

 where in profusion. Eudda.nis triquetra was an- 

 other very common species, and several species of 

 AapUvaehna were not infrequently taken, as were 

 several of the genus Brachiomis. From a pond bv 

 the side of the Lymington Road we took Daphnia 

 bearing a commensal BracTiionus in large quanti- 

 ties, probably Srachionus rubens. The pond was 

 little better than a concentrated syrup of Daphnia, 

 and as each Daphnia was quite laden with this 

 particular rotifer, it may be readily imagined that 

 the environment, from some cause or other, was 

 eminently satisfactory to the Brachionae. Among 

 the sedentary rotifers FloscuUae were abundant 

 and generally distributed, as was Melieerta ringens. 

 Mebieerta conifer a seemed to favour the heath 

 ponds, though it also occurred sparingly in the 

 forest ponds. 



Qphrydiwm versatile was our best find among 

 the Infusoria : it was floating about in the boggy 

 ditches in masses as large as a walnut. The genus 

 Stentor was abundantly represented, including the 

 somewhat sporadic 8. niger. The form most fre- 

 quent among the Mastigophora was Dinobryon 

 sertuJaria, unless one includes Yolvox globator in 

 this order. Volrox was certainly one of the most 

 frequent forms of pond life in the Forest ; its 

 delicate green spherules were to be met in all 

 kinds of water. The Rhizopoda would undoubtedly 

 well repay careful attention in the Forest district, 

 as the ponds seem specially rich in them. Aetino- 

 sphaerium eichornii is most abundant, as also 

 Aetinophrys sol. Arcella vulgaris and Difflugw, 

 pyriformis were, of course, abundant ; and in 

 various ponds we found the beautiful Heliozoon 

 Acanthoeystus turfacea. 



Hydra vulgaris and H. viridis were the repre- 

 sentatives of the Hydrozoa, and in a large pond on 

 Beaulieu Heath the orange variety of H. vulgaris 

 was very plentiful. This variety is only occasion- 

 ally met with, and its colour is due, almost cer- 

 tainly, to symbiotic algae, not, as is often imagined, 

 to any specific difference. In this particular pond 

 all the entomostracans were of the same orange 

 tint. The colour was extremely vivid, often ap- 

 proaching scarlet in its intensity. A tube full of 

 deep orange hydra and entomostracans presented a 

 very beautiful appearance. 



The Forest ponds were especially rich in ento- 

 mostracans ; but, as our knowledge of them is par- 

 ticularly slender, their specific enumeration must 

 be left until such time as a specialist in this class 

 visits the district. It was our good fortune, how- 

 ever, to take one specimen of the extremely rare 



