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Microscopic Objects from Water. How to create microscope slides from water organisms.
Microscopic Objects from Water
The main sources of microscopic material may be divided into three classes, namely, the waters of ponds, lakes and streams, animal life, and vegetable life. These, with their various side branches, afford an endless variety of material. One of the most interesting of these groups is the first, ordinary water that has collected in a small or a large body, either still or moving. Here are to be found microscopic creatures by the million, in endless variety, some animal, others vegetable. Hours of study and observation may be expended upon one drop of water from a pail into which a handful of straw has been thrown and left to stand for several weeks. Should this source not be prolific enough to suit the fancy, take a small jar and run it along the trunk of a tree submerged in a lake. Put a drop of this water on a slide, magnify it fifty times and you will see creatures tumbling over one another, creatures you never thought existed. If you are still not satisfied, take the small jar again and gently scrape it along the bottom of a shallow portion of a lake or stream. Be very careful not to collect too much mud, but let it just skim along the surface. If there are any aquatic plants growing there, scrape their stems and the under sides of the leaves with your collecting bottle. Put a drop of this collection on your slide and be prepared for a shock. You have now collected an entirely new lot of animalcules, thousands of them, and yet you have seen but a very small portion of what you may find. Almost every drop of water you examine will contain new forms of life. These forms vary with the seasons, the location and the character of the water. Certain forms live only in fresh water, others in salt water, still others may be found only in places where there is a mixture of the two, such as at the mouth of rivers. Since water is such a prolific source of microscopic life many beginners turn to it for their first material, so we will describe a few collecting tools which will make the work easier and more interesting. Now to get back to the examination of the material gathered with the collecting net. This will contain a variety of things, all new to the student. It is difficult to say just what has been collected since each locality produces its own species, and many that are found abundantly in one place are entirely absent in another. However, it is fairly safe to say that the greater portion of the forms present will consist of diatoms, desrnicls and algae. There will doubtless be some Rhizopods, a good many Infusoria, probably some worms, numerous Rotifera and some Polyzoa.
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