, ‘ i\/ 6 10 (4 
Ameeba proteus for Class Purposes. | ¥ 179 
“ny 'f} - 
XIIT.—Note on the Collection and Culture of Amcba proteus' for 
Class Purposes. By Monica Taylor, S.N.D., D.Sc. 
(Read 25th November 1918. MS. received 26th October 1918.) 
Swortiy after the commencement of the war, dealers’ supplies of Amba 
proteus began to fail. This shortage, coupled with the fact that the number 
of students of biology and medicine steadily increased, rendered an investiga- 
tion of the sources of Amwba in the vicinity of Glasgow a problem of 
considerable usefulness. The unexpected discovery, in the autumn of 1915, 
of a rich culture of Ameba in one of the aquaria of the Notre Dame College 
Laboratory, the material for which had been collected near Glasgow, showed 
that it was possible of solution. The work, however, had to be undertaken 
as an “aside” to other pressing duties, hence the tardy completion of 
this note. 
In 1916 rich cultures were unexpectedly found in an aquarium contain- 
ing bladderwort gathered in a bog near Knockanes, Killarney. Quantities 
of the plant, packed tightly in a small tin box, had been sent for botanical 
purposes by Miss J. O'Donoghue to the College Laboratory, where the contents 
were emptied into a glass vessel containing Glasgow tap-water and exposed 
to good sunlight. Abundant assimilation was evident from the innumerable 
bubbles of gas in the aquarium, which fact incidently emphasised the 
importance of the oxygenation question in searching for natural sources of 
Ameba. Since the amebe in this case gradually “lost hold,” eventually 
disappeared, and did not reappear (in spite of the fact that the trough was 
kept at a fairly uniform temperature), it seemed evident that the food-supply 
had been exhausted. 
A search in the neighbourhood of Glasgow for a “site” similar to the 
one described for Knockanes was made during the succeeding months. 
Meanwhile, since the autumn of 1915, an examination of water from well- 
oxygenated ponds containing much water-weed, made in conjunction with 
Sr. Carmela, revealed the fact that although Amwba proteus can be discovered 
in almost every such pond, yet the labour of searching for and finding it in 
large numbers precludes such sources from being of practical value for class 
purposes. This search was useful, however, in that it brought out very 
strongly the almost universal occurrence of Ameba proteus, although no 
1 T am indebted to Miss L. Carter (Sr. Bernardine), B.Sc., for the identification of the 
species and for the information that she received supplies of Aimeba proteus from the 
- Auchter Water (Newmains, Wishaw) in 1910-1911, from Miss A, Gillespie. 
VOL. XX. Q 
