810 General Notes. | [August, 
hinder part, and the right half a new leg, The complete organ- 
isms thus formed 2 a developed by spontaneous Agp im- 
ultaneously with Herr Nussbaum’s experiments A. Gruber 
artificially divided Stentor ceruleus with the same seisuitt If the 
divided parts of a Stentor were not completely separated they 
directions. If the cut was not very deep, monstrous forms might 
be produced, as, for instance, with two complete anterior or two 
posterior portions—Lxglish ‘Mechanic. 
ORGANISMS IN IcE.—Professor Leidy relates that he had placed 
in his hands for examination, a vial of water obtained from melt- 
ing ice which is used for cooling drinking water. From time to 
time, among some sediment taken from a water-cooler, his in- 
formant had observed what he supposed to be living worms, which 
he suspected were introduced with the water into the cooler, and 
not with the ice. Upon melting some of the ice alone, the worms 
were still observed, and the water submitted for examination was 
some that was thus obtained. Professor Leidy was surprised to 
find a number of worms among some flocculent sediment, mainly 
consisting of vegetal hairs and other débris. Besides the worms, 
there were also immature Anguillule, and a number of Rotifer 
vulgaris, all living. It would appear that these animals had all 
ae contained in the ice, and had been liberated on melting. It 
an unexpected source of contamination of drinking-water, 
that Professor Leidy had previously supposed to be improbable. 
The worms were probably an undescribed species of Lum- 
briculus. Several dead worms swarmed in the interior hee ee 
ovate, beaked, ciliated infusorians, measuring from 0.0 
long by 0.04 to 0.48™™ broad.— Journal of the Royal roren 
Society, February, 1885. 
A FRESH-WATER SPONGE FROM MEXICO.— 
ia mexicana, n. sp.—Sponge (as seen “oa an alcoholic preparation) green, 
minute, encrusting Lemna and other water pla 
Gemmulz Tee, surrounded by a close Mie of berotulate spicules, embedded 
in a granular cr 
Skeleton iied long slender, gradually pointed, smooth or very minutely micro- 
Dermal rrer 
Berotulate aleje arm A ing to the armen in length about three times the 
diameter of the rote shafts nearly cylind sometimes more slender near the 
middle; be ined; spines long So Ba so flat, deeply notched, rays 
This species, collected by Professor E. D. Cope in Lake Xoch- 
imilco, about seventeen miles south of the City of Mexico, differs 
the familiar M. fluviatilis chiefly in the far greater length of 
: the shafts of the berotulate spicules. Itis further interesting as 
eing only the second species of fresh-water sponge to reach the’ 
nds of specialists from that region of N. America. These par- 
; AE were probably collected in an immature condi- 
