126 THE YOUNG 
The boy was sent to a blacksmith to 
learn a trade, and his master took a lively 
interest in him. He made a loom of what 
was left of the one his father had broken 
up, and showed it to his master. 
The blacksmith saw he had no common 
boy as an apprentice, and that the inven- 
tion was a valuable one. He had a loom 
constructed under the supervision of the 
boy. It worked to their perfect satis- 
faction, and the blacksmith furnished the 
means to manufacture the looms, and the 
boy received half the profits. In about 
a year the blacksmith wrote to the boy's 
father that he should bring with him a 
wealthy gentleman who was the inventor 
of the celebrated power loom. 
You may be able to judge of the aston- 
ishment at the old home when his son 
was presented to him as the inventor, who 
told him that the loom was the same as 
the model that he had kicked to pieces 
but a year ago. 
Our Patent Office shows many inge- 
nious and useful inventions made by 
minors and women, and the above list 
of important inventions made by boys 
might be largely increased did space 
permit. 
Although the foregoing is not strictly 
in accordance with facts, it offers food for 
thought for the boys, as it indicates what 
might be done by those of an ingenious 
turn of mind and who receive fair en- 
couragement from their parents and 
friends. We have often seen young folks, 
both boys and girls, who have been 
brought to their " wits end " in some 
little matter suddenly get out of the diffi- 
culty, by devising some before unknown 
means, thus proving that there is some 
truth in the old adage that " necessity is 
the mother of invention," but in the main 
it is better for boys to understand that no 
great invention is ever likely to be made 
without thought and proper preparation. 
Work is the only certain road leading to 
success in invention, as it is in obtaining I 
knowledge. 
— A teaspoonful of salt to a quart of 
the ^il in plant boxes will kill the white 
worms. 
SCIENTIST. 
Marvels of Pond Life.— XIV. 
THERE is always satisfaction in finding 
a work accomplished ; but the attempt 
to delineate some of the marvels of minute 
creation has been a pleasant one, and we 
approach the completion of our task of 
recording a Microscopic Year with some- 
thing like regret. The dark, dirty Decem- 
ber of the great metropolis may not seem 
a promising time for field excursions, but 
some ponds lie near enough to practicable 
roads and paths to render an occasional 
dip in them, not of ourselves, but of our 
bottles— an easy and not unpleasant per- 
formance; and if the weather is un- 
usually bad, we can fall back upon our 
])reserves in bottles and tanks, which 
seldom fail to afford something new, as- 
we have been pretty sure to bring home 
some undeveloped germs with our stock of 
pond-water and plants, and even creatures 
of considerable size are very likely to have 
escaped detection in our first efforts at 
examination. 
When objects are not over abundant, as- 
is apt to be the case in the cold months, 
it is well to fill a large vial with some 
water out of the aquarium or other large 
vessel, and watch what living specks 
may be moving about therein. These are 
readily examined with a pocket-lens, and 
with a little dexterity any promising: 
creature can be fished out with the 
dipping-tube. It is also advisable to shake 
a mass of vegetation in a white basin, as- 
the larger infusoria, etc., may be thrown 
down ; and indeed this method (as recom- 
mended by Pritchard) is always conveni- 
ent. Even so small a quantity of water 
as is contained in a glass cell, appro- 
priated to the continual examination of 
polyps or polyzoa, should be frequently 
huiited over with a low power, as in the 
course of days and weeks one race of 
small animals will disappear, and another 
take their place. 
Following these various methods in 
December, we obtained many specimens; 
but the most interesting was found by 
taking up small branches of the Anacharis. 
with a pair of forceps, and putting them 
into a glass trough to see what inhabitants 
they mig'ht possess. One of these trials 
was rewarded by the appearance of a little 
puppy-shaped animal very busy pawing 
about with eight imperfect legs, but not 
making much progress with all his efforts. 
It was evident that we had obtained one 
of the Tardigrada (slow-steppers), or 
I Water-Bears, and a very comical amusing 
little fellow he was. The figure was like 
that of anew-born puppy, or " unlicked " 
bear cub; each of the eight legs were 
provided with four serviceable claws, 
there was no tail, and the blunt head was 
susceptible of considerable alteration of 
'shai">e. He was grubbing about among 
