THE YOUNG 
SCIENTIST. 
The Beautiful Floscule could always be 
made to repeat the process of retreating 
into her den, and coming out again to 
spread her elegant plumes before our 
eyes, by giving the table a smart knock, 
and her colors and structure were well 
exhibited by the dark-ground illumina- 
tion, which has been explained in a pre- 
vious page. 
An object like this should be watched 
at intervals for hours and even days, 
especially if the eggs are nearly ready to 
give up their infantile contents. This "was 
the case with the specimen described, and 
after a few hours a young Floscule es- 
caped, looking very liiuch like a clumsy 
little grub. After a few awkward wrig- 
gles the new-born baby became more 
quiet, and on looking at it again at the 
expiration of seventeen hours, it had de- 
veloped into the shape of a miniature 
plum-pudding, with live or six tiny lobes 
Expanding their tufts of slender hair, 
unforunately its farther proceedings were 
not seen, or it would have been interesting 
to note the growth of the foot, and the 
formation of the gelatinous tube, which is 
probably thrown off in rings. 
To view the details of the structure of a 
Floscule, it must be placed in a live box 
or compressorium, and if specimens are 
scarce, they should not be allowed to re- 
main in the limited quantity of water 
those contrivances liold, after the obser- 
vations are concluded, but should be care- 
fully removed, and placed in a little vial, 
such as homoeopathists use for their 
medicine. By such means an individual 
may be kept alive for many days. It is 
also interesting to place a little branch of 
the plant occupied by Floscules or similar 
creatures, in a glass trough, where they 
may be made quite at home, and their 
proceedings agreeably watched by a one- 
inch or two-thirds power. These troughs,* 
which can be obtained of the optician, 
should be of plate glass, about three 
inches long, nearly the same height, and 
about half an inch wide. If narrower, or 
much taller, they will not stand, wdiich is 
a great inconvenience. The pieces of 
glass are stuck together with marine 
glue, and a very simple contrivance ena- 
bles the plants or other objects to be 
pressed near the front, and tlius brought 
Into better view. A strip of glass, rather 
narrower than the width of the trough, is 
dropped into it, and allowed to fall to the 
bottom. Then a piece of glass rather 
shorter than the trough, and rather 
higher than its front side, is placed so as 
to slope from the front of the bottom 
* The shallow cells with thin sliding covers de- 
vised by Mr. Curteis (of Baker's), are still more 
convenient when no pressure is required, and 
the objects are small. When not under the mi- 
croscope they can be kept full of water by immer- 
sion in a tumbler. . 
towards the back at the top. The piece i 
of glass first dropped in keeps it in the 
right position, and the trough is thus ji 
made into a V-shaped vessel, wide at the ^ 
top and gradually narrowing. Any ob- ! 
ject then placed in it will fall till it fits ■ 
some part of the Y, where it will remain ' 
for observation. A small wedge of cork 
enables the movable piece of glass to be 
thrown forwards, until it assumes any I 
angle, or is brought parallel to the front 
of the trough. 
A power of five or six hundred diame- 
ters generally enables a movement of 
small globules to be seen at the extremity 
of the lobes of the Floscule, and the giz- 
zard may be made plain by dissolving the 
rest of the creature in a drop of solution 
of caustic potash. It also becomes more 
visible as the supply of food falls short. • 
Mr. Gosse describes the body as "lined 
with a yellowish vascular membrane," 
and young specimens exhibit two red 
eyes, which may or may not be found in I 
adults. When these eyes of Eotifers are | 
not readily conspicuous, they must be i 
sought for by opaque illumination, or by 
the dark-ground method which, especially 
with the parabola, is successful in bring- 
ing them out. 
Naturalists, and possibly the specimens 
also, do not always agree in the number 
of lobes assigned to the " Beautiful Flos- 
cule," and although it is easy enough to 
count them in some positions, the observer 
may have to exercise a good deal of pa- 
tience before he is certain whether they 
are five or six. For a long evening only 
five could be discerned in the specimen 
now described, but the next night six were 
apparent without difficulty or doubt. 
The hairs also will not appear anything 
•like their true length or number, unless 
the object glass is good, and great care is 
taken not to obscure them by a blaze of 
ill-directed light. 
Chsetonotus larus (swimming) X 5"^0. 
After the Floscules had been sufficiently 
admired and put aside, for observations 
to be repeated on future occasions, a Bo- 
tifer attracted attention by his merry- 
andrew pranks, throwing himself in all 
directions by means of two long and ex- 
