The out-door world, or, Young collector's handbook / by W. Furneaux.

  • William Samuel Furneaux
Date:
1893
Catalogue details

Licence: Public Domain Mark

Credit: The out-door world, or, Young collector's handbook / by W. Furneaux. Source: Wellcome Collection.

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    his net splits, his bait can springs a leak, or the joint of his Y gives way ; and the repairing occupies only a few minutes. A dipping-bottle is exceedingly useful, especially when the collector is the fortunate possessor of a good microscope. It con- sists of a wide-mouthed bottle of medium size, with a spreading rim. A stout wire ring is fastened securely round the neck, and the twisted ends of this serve to fix the arrangement to a stick. Stagnant water usually teems with the lower forms of hfe, both animal and vegetable; and with the aid of the dipping-bottle samples of water may be collected from different parts of a pond. When it is intended to search for microscopic objects, a hand mag- nifying lens should always form part of the equipment. Each sample of water removed from the pond is held up to the light and examined with the lens. If abundant signs of life are visible, the greater portion is genthj poured back into the pond, and the lower richer part, with all its sediment, pirt into a collecting-bottle for further examination at home. ]\Iany interesting low forms of life may be seemed by gently scraping the submerged surfaces of piles and other objects. Of course, this may be done by means of the simple dipping- bottle and stick. My own plan, however, which seems to be in every way satisfac- tory, is this : A small tin friimel with a wide tube fits firmly in the cork of a wide-mouthed bottle. Two other holes in the cork arc covered with fine muslin ; and a ferrule soldered to a metal band round the neck of the bottle serves to fix the whole to a stick. As the funnel moves upwards in the water, gently scraping the surface to which it is applied, a current of water sets downwards into the bottle, afterwards escaping through the muslin covering the holes in the cork. In this way a large quantity of water may be strained through the apparatus, while the little living beings passing down the funnel are continually adding to the density of the population. _ After a time the cork is removed, and the contents poured into Fio. 5.—Bottle fob col- LECTIXO Low FoEMS OF Pond Life.
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