Microscopical observations made in South Carolina, Georgia, and Florida.

  • Bailey, Jacob Whitman, 1811-1857
Date:
[1850]
Catalogue details

Licence: Public Domain Mark

Credit: Microscopical observations made in South Carolina, Georgia, and Florida. Source: Wellcome Collection.

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    It is not merely the superficial layers which contain these remains, but earth thrown out from the depth of fifteen to twenty feet, as at the excavations lor foundations and ditches at Fort Pulaski and Fort Johnson, abound in the same fossils, among which, besides Spongiolites and Phytolitharia, the following Dia- tomacea? were noticed : Actinocyclus, several species. Actinoptychus senarius, Ehr. “ denarius, Ehr. Coscinodiscus radiatus, Ehr. “ subtilis, Ehr. Cocconema cymbiforme, Ehr. *Eupodiscus radiatus, B. Gallionella sulcata, Ehr. “ varians, Ehr. It will be noticed that all these forms are such as are now common in estu¬ aries along the Atlantic coast. Pinnularia placentula, Kg. “ elliptica, Kg. Rhaphoneis rhombus, Ehr. Surirella splendida, Ehr. Triceratium favus, Ehr. “ alternans, B. Terpsinoe musica, Ehr. Zygoceros rhombus, Ehr. In a fresh water ditch, about a mile below the city of Savannah, and commif- nicating directly with the river, I found the following Diatomaceae in a living state. Bacillaria paradoxa, Ehr. Pinnularia viridis, Ehr. Coscinodiscus subtilis, Ehr. *Odontella Mobilensis, B., with spicules of sponge Meloseira arenaria, Moore. In another fresh w ater ditch, in the same vicinity, I noticed among Drapar- naldia glomerata, Ag., and Spirogyra quinina, Ivg., the follow ing forms, viz : Closterium lunula, Ehr. Coscinodiscus excentricus, Ehr., dead. Navicula hippocampus, Ehr. Naunema, undetermined, with long slender frustules. Synedra vitrea, Ehr. Surirella splendida, Ehr. SWAMP ON THE ROAD TO BONAVENTTRE, NEAR SAVANNAH. On the 24th of December, I collected Hydrocharis spongiosa, or “ Coltsfoot,” from a small swamp near the roadside, about a mile from Savannah ; and on examining it with a microscope, 1 found that the small hairs which cover its aquatic roots give an admirable display of the phenomena of the circulation of the sap. These hairs are as transparent as glass, and in each one a turbid fluid may be seen in rapid motion, along the walls of the cells. Slowly revolving ct oblasts were also noticed in some of the hairs. Entangled among the roots of this plant I noticed specimens of Hydatina senta, Ehr., and frustules of Eunotia diodon, Ehr.