62 NOTES ON THE AGRICULTURE, BOTANY 



VIII. — On the Exploration of the Fresh Water 

 Algae in Manchuria. 4 



As is known the vegetation of Manchuria and the Far 

 East has been studied in detail, but up to the present 

 botanists have paid special attention to the higher plants, 

 which are to be found equally in other parts of Asia. The 

 investigations made during four years by the author of the 

 present notes show that the algae of this district have also 

 a large scientific use and are as well worth attention as the 

 higher group of plants. Altogether in Manchuria 800 

 different forms are found, among which 100 prove to be 

 new to science. Of the main characteristics of the separate 

 systematical groups of known algae it is necessary first to 

 mention the sufficiently studied flagellatae of the family 

 Euglenaceae, discovered here in 182 forms. It is a great 

 number when compared with only the 130 forms to be found 

 in all European Russia, up to the present. Among the 133 

 kinds of the genus Trachelomonas , observed in Manchuria, 

 18 are apportioned to new species and 62 new varieties. The 

 diversity of Trachelomonas is astonishing and these seem to 

 be peculiar to Manchuria. 



The original aspect of some Manchurian types, merit a 

 great deal of attention; and it is possible that this datum 

 serves as a new fact to prove the common opinion as to their 

 original character which supposition is supported by the 

 existence of direct proof about the original character of the 

 fresh water fauna and flora of the Amur basin. Certainly 

 in comparison with European the Asiatic flagellatae have 

 been little studied and this may be the reason for the dis- 

 covery here of so many new types. The most interesting 

 among the Trachelomonas were the forms with a rim on the 

 upper part of the shells similar to — T. Wislouchii and T. 

 peridiniformis (see fig. Nos. 1 and 2). At the first glance 

 their original construction (for example T. Wislouchii), with 

 a rim like a parachute, reminds one of the pelagic planktonic 

 — Peredineae and has accordingly been named by me — 

 T. peridiniformis. As regards blue-green algae about 48 

 foftns have been observed and most of them were cosmo- 

 politan. Among other interesting flagellatae in Manchuria 

 are — Cryptomonadaceae , but the last up to the present have 

 not been specially studied. Among the Conjugatae, of which 

 200 forms are found, the most interesting was the family 



4 See article — "The algae from Manchuria and observations on the 

 water vegetation of the Sungari river valley ," by B. W. Skvortzow 

 (Journal of Microbiology, Vol. Ill, 1916, Petrograd) and "The mater- 

 ials on the Flagellatae of Manchuria,''' Part I. (ibid, Vol.), 1917. 



