Hunting for Diatoms. 191 



the writer to give the result of his experience in the matter, 

 which has induced him to pen these lines. In mentioning the 

 various species of Diatoinaceaa in connection with given habitats 

 and localities, it may be as well to say that the writer has in 

 most cases found the species named in such localities ; not neces- 

 sarily in one particular district, but at various times and in dif- 

 ferent parts of the country. 



We will now suppose the collectors are commencing their 

 imaginary collecting tour, and, before leaving the town, let us 

 take a stroll round the Docks — for here we may meet with ma- 

 terial in places where such might be the least expected. For 

 instance, let us examine the logs of Baltic or American timber 

 as they come from the vessels. If the timber has remained for 

 any length of time afloat before shipping, the logs are almost 

 sure to have traces of Conferva, either fresh- water or marine, 

 growing on them, and these, on being carefully scraped off, will, 

 in all probability, yield diatoms to reward the collector. Some 

 of the logs from the St. Lawrence or the Ottawa will yield us 

 American forms, while logs from Dantzig will give us interesting 

 gatherings from the Vistula and the interior of Poland. 



Should a vessel be unloading " Kaurie spars," from New 

 Zealand, or some of those gigantic " sticks " which have lately 

 been imported from Vancouver's Island, we may, probably, be 

 rewarded by finding beautiful Antipodean forms of Diatomaceas 

 on the former, and the exquisite Arachnoidiscus or Triceratium 

 WilJcesii from the latter, perhaps even Aulacodiscus Oregonus. 



Let us not go past these mahogany logs landing from 

 Mexico or Honduras, as the case may be, without casting an 

 eye over them, for these may have been rafted for some time in 

 the sea before shipment, or may have brought down new or 

 little known forms from the interior of Central America. Here, 

 on the first log we examine, is a copious incrustation of a form, 

 either identical with or closely allied to Melosira nummuloides, 

 abundant likewise in our Docks. The gathering is so copious 

 that it fairly glistens in the sun. 



Let us also scrape away some of the shelly incrustation of 

 Balanus, which completely covers some of the logs, for possibly 

 among this we may find that exquisite American form Terpsinoe 

 musica, so called, I suppose, from the costae appearing like so 

 many musical notes. 



Here are some fishermen just coming in. Let us examine 

 their nets, for these men are trawlers, and have been fishing in 

 deep water, aud the meshes of their nets may still have diatoms 

 bearing Algas attached to them. On such Algae we may probably 

 find Bhabdonema arcuatum or Adriaticum, Grammatophora 

 serpentina and marina, with species of parasitic Synedras ; pos- 

 sibly the singular Synedra unchdata, may reward our search. 



