FAUNA OF THE CHESS AND GADE. 339 



and again, on April 13th, 1914, when the pool was comparatively 

 very low and its fauna unusually poor, several specimens were 

 obtained. 



Between Hastoe and Shire Lane (part of the boundary 

 between Herts and Bucks) is a muddy pool which maintains its 

 water level fairly well. The largest number of specimens of 

 A. brevispina obtained by me on a single occasion was the 

 result of a careful dredging of the pool on May 26th, 1914. I 

 had dredged the same pool in October of the previous year, but 

 did not obtain any Botifers of interest. On May 26th, 1914, 

 however, a very large number of forms of life was obtained, and 

 of these the specimens of A. brevispina constituted a large 

 proportion. Most of the specimens were carrying an oval egg 

 of a pale pink colour, the general colour of the body of the 

 Botifer being light yellow. Some empty cases were also seen 

 and these showed the polygonal facets very clearly. It was 

 astonishing to notice how large a proportion of the specimens 

 were attached to one another, not only in pairs, but occasionally 

 in threes. They were, in some cases, firmly connected, for one 

 pair, attached laterally with their oral parts close together, went 

 right through the space between the valves of a vigorous 

 Daphnia pulex, and, after being literally kicked out, remained 

 attached together. The various pairs were attached in all kinds 

 of relative positions, parallel, crosswise, and inclined. 



On the same day, May 26th, 1914, numerous specimens, 

 exactly like those from Hastoe Pool, in form, colour of body, 

 and colour of eggs, were taken from Chesham Boacl Pool, which 

 was, it may be said, dirtier than I had seen it before, consider- 

 ing that it was fairly full. The phenomena of life of the 

 specimens were different from those at Hastoe Pool, for 

 comparatively few were carrying eggs, and all the specimens 

 seen were swimming quite independently. 



16. Anuraea aculeata, Ehren. — It may be mentioned, at the 

 outset, that I had obtained numerous specimens of A. brevispina 

 before any specimens of A. aculeata were found. These were 

 first obtained on April 11th, 1914, by dredging in water three 

 feet deep in Bedmond Pool. Many specimens were also 

 obtained by dredging in shallow water and among the sedges of 

 Kings Langley Lodge Pool on April 13th, 1914. A few 



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