HARDWICKE'S SCIENCE-GOSSIP. 



"5 



:is a very comprehensive term, and the microscopic 

 student cannot fail to be both interested and instructed 

 by the full and clear accounts and pictures of hosts of 

 " Accessories," of many of which he was probably 

 ignorant before. The letter-press runs to 68 pp., and 

 there are about one hundred illustrations, all well got 

 up, as will be seen by the accompanying figs, from 

 blocks used in the catalogue, and kindly lent us by 

 Messrs. Watson. The first thing for students and 

 intending purchasers, is to obtain one of Messrs. 

 Watson's Catalogues, and, after going over it, to use 

 their own judgment. 



Microscopic Pond-Life in Winter. — In Sep- 

 tember 1S91, while out in search of micro-organisms, 

 I dipped my collecting-bottle in a ditch at Hook, 

 near Goole, and was rewarded by at once perceiving 

 numerous tubes of Melicerta on the under side of the 

 leaves of duckweed. The ditch was broad and deep, 

 protected on one side by a high, but straggling 

 and open hedge, and on the other by a raised portion 

 of the field. It had been partially cleaned out by the 

 farmer ; possibly harvest operations had prevented 

 the completion of the work — very fortunately for me, 

 for it proved rich in interesting forms of life. For 

 one half of its length the ditch contained clear water 

 only ; the other half was covered with a dense sheet 

 of the ivy-leafed duckweed {Lemna trisulca). Some 

 of the leaves of duckweed had as many as six 

 specimens of Melicerta ringens on their lower surface, 

 and examination under the microscope also revealed 

 the presence of Floscularia ornata and F. cornula in 

 great abundance. Arcella aculeata, A. vulgaris, and A. 

 dentata were also present, the latter species being the 

 most numerous. From time to time throughout the 

 winter, in all kinds of weather, I made occasional 

 visits to the ditch. As the autumnal rains increased, 

 it gradually filled up, and finally overflowed ; but the 

 Lemna kept together in considerable masses, and 

 only on one occasion was my search for organisms 

 unsuccessful. Late in October, after a fortnight or 

 more of very heavy rain which had flooded many 

 parts of the country, in addition to M. ringens and 

 the Floscularise, I obtained Mastigocerca carinata, 

 Pterodina patina, Colurus deftexus, Kerona ?nytilus, 

 Actinosphtzrium Eichornii, Actinophrys sol, Stentor 

 Mulleri, Euglena viridis, and the Arcellje previously 

 mentioned. Hydra viridis, Entomostraca, and minute 

 Infusoria (Peridinium and others) were very plentiful. 

 Throughout November the same species continued to 

 flourish in undiminished numbers. On the 20th Decem- 

 ber, after three days' keen frost, the ditch was covered 

 with a coating of clear ice about three quarters of an 

 inch thick. The duckweed, still in dense patches, could 

 be seen beneath the ice ; not frozen into it. On break- 

 ing the ice, and transferring a quantity of duckweed to 

 the collecting-bottle, the pocket lens showed that the 

 water was simply teeming with microscopic life. On 

 examination with the inch objective, the field was 



seen to be crowded with Eosphora auriia ; next in 

 abundance was Mastigocerca carinata ; and then, also 

 in considerable quantity, M. ringens, the Floscularise, 

 Tardigrada, and a species of Synchjeta, possibly 

 the form described in " Prit chard's Infusoria" as 

 S. tremula. I may mention that a friend to whom 

 I sent a portion of this " dip " observed an adult 

 specimen of M. ringens swimming freely without a 

 sheath ; a most unusual thing. During a sharp frost 

 in January, or early in February, the duckweed was 

 frozen into the ice, and when a slow thaw ensued, 

 was left lying on the top of the partially melted ice- 

 sheet, in a semi-moist condition. Under these 

 circumstances tube rotifers were hardly to be expected, 

 nor did I find them. The tubes of Melicerta were 

 there, but they were evidently old ones, and of 

 Floscularia there was no trace. A few Rhizopods 

 and common Infusoria were present. Fragments of 

 ice containing Lemna only yielded the common 

 Vorticella nebulifera and numerous lively Nematoids. 

 Towards the end of February Entomostraca became 

 more numerous, and Dioptomus castor made its 

 appearance. As the mild weather approached, the 

 ditch again teemed with Infusoria, sometimes one 

 type predominating, sometimes another. M. ringens 

 is now present but very sparingly, and Floscularia 

 has not reappeared. In the above record only the 

 more noticeable and interesting organisms are men- 

 tioned. Other Infusorians were collected in almost 

 every "dip," and on two occasions species were 

 observed by a correspondent to whom portions of the 

 gatherings were sent, which were not described in 

 either Pritchard or the Micrographic. Had collec- 

 tions been made throughout the whole district, 

 instead of from one single locality, no doubt the list 

 would have been very much extended ; but enough 

 has been said to show that " pond naturalists " 

 should not relax their researches during the inclement 

 months of the year. — C. L. Lord. 



ZOOLOGY. 



Extinction of the Lapwing. — Your corre- 

 spondent, Mr. Ward, appears to have quite mis- 

 apprehended the paragraph he refers to, which related 

 to the great numbers of lapwings' eggs which are 

 taken for consumption at the breakfast-table, but 

 which did not state that naturalist dealers and col- 

 lectors sell or take any considerable number of 

 lapwings' eggs. Surely it is quite absurd to suppose 

 that the comparatively small number of lapwings' 

 eggs taken by egg collectors and naturalist dealers 

 affects the numbers of the bird to any appreciable 

 extent, as it is so generally distributed throughout the 

 country. Such absurd attacks are only likely to 

 bring ridicule upon those who make them, and to do 

 harm to the cause of bird protection in the end. In 

 my opinion it is the desire of collectors to possess 



