Mr. Bolton’s Agency for the Supply of Microscopic Organisms

by Edwin Ray Lankester

Mr. Bolton’s Agency for the Supply of Microscopic Organisms.—Mr. Bolton, of 17, Ann Street, Birmingham, has supplied to me once a week by post, during the past year, a tube containing in a living state new or interesting forms of Protozoa, Entomostraca, Rotifera, &c. Every naturalist within a day’s post of Birmingham should subscribe a guinea to Mr.Bolton’s agency, and ensure the weekly receipt of one of his most interesting tubes. Mr. Bolton has sent out during the past year most of the more important forms of Rotifera, such as Hydatina senta, Lacinularia socialis, Conochilus volcox, Melicerta and Œcistes, Stephanoceras and Floscularia, &c. One form sent by him, viz. the Rhinops vitrea, of Dr. Hudson, is especially worthy of mention. Large Amœbæ and the commoner Ciliate Infusoria have been supplied by Mr. Bolton in abundance. Amongst rarer Ciliata supplied by him we may mention Trachelius ovum and Zoothamnium arbuscula. The work which Mr. Bolton is doing is not, however, limited to the distribution of forms already known; he has made some important additions to the British Fauna, for which he deserves the warmest support and encouragement of zoologists. About three months ago I received from him a tube containing specimens of an Entomostracon which he was unable to identify, rightly considering it new to this country. The form proved to be the beautiful Leptodora hyalina of Lilljeborg. A few days later another tube was sent by him, containing a species which I identified as the Hyalodaphnia Kahlbergensis of Schödler. These two very fine Entomostraca were obtained by Mr. Bolton from a deep reservoir at Olton. Besides these I have to thank Mr. Bolton for the new Protozoon Lithœmœba discus, described in the present number of the Journal. Last autumn, from the same source, I received an abundant supply of one of those very interesting spiculate Heliozoa, which my colleague, Mr. Archer, of Dublin, was the first to make known to zoologists. The specimens forwarded by Mr. Bolton proved to be the Raphidiophrys pallida, a species named by Prof. F. Eilhard Schulze, and assigned by him to Archer’s genus.

Mr. Bolton has also during the year supplied me with the finest specimens of Hydra fusca which I have seen, with Volvox, Uroglena, and other similar forms. A few marine organisms have been distributed by him, namely, the interesting disc-like larvæ of the Polyzoon Alcyonidium, and the delicate polyp Lucernarta auricula—E. Ray Lankester.

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