UTKICULARIA CLANDESTINE 141 



In December, 1873, on placing some of the utricles 

 under the microscope I noticed animalcules within 

 them, dead entomostraca, and the dead larva of some 

 aquatic insect ; but as the utricles appeared to be open, 

 the significance of the dead creatures was not very- ap- 

 parent, and I was not aroused to earnest work until I 

 saw the movements of a captured living larva, its strug- 

 gles to escape, and its final death. This was in October, 

 1874. I now visited the ponds and procured abundant 

 material. The plant that I experimented mostly, with 

 was the one known to botanists as Utricular lit clandes- 

 tine/,. I soon became so deejay interested that I scarce- 

 ly took note of time, and the small hours of the morn- 

 ing frequently found me absorbed in the work. 



My observations were now more specially directed to 

 the structure of the utricle, which is quite complicated 

 and beautiful. It is composed of irregular cells, and 

 evenly distributed over the inner surface are clusters 

 of star-like or stellate points, usually four in number, 

 arranged very regularly : they are probably absorbents. - 



My next work was to see what prevented the creat- 

 ures from escaping after being captured, and to this end 

 I devoted my time for several days. The animal that 

 I found most commonly entrapped was a snake -like 

 larva {Chironomus) about the length of the mosquito 

 larva, but more slender and of lighter color (see Fig. 13, 

 p. 139). 



Under the microscope it appears quite formidable, 

 with fierce-looking jaws, and a pair of telescopic horns 



