Silk Mesh Research Articles

THIS is a study of the community of life that is bound up with the floating masses of filamentous algae, popularly known ,as blanket-alg-w. An acquaintance with this population is worth cultivating for the sake of the variety, beauty and interesting peculiarities of the plants and animals found in this unique habitat. It may be of utilitarian value as well, for there exists a, relation between plankton production, algal growth and fish culture. Furthermore, it may be a help to students and to teachers of biology when they are in search of certain laboratory materials, which in these algm masses flourish. Method of Collecting.-A fine silk hand net of No. 12 bolting cloth was used to lift, the algae from the surface of the water. The largest collection covered about 2,800 sq. cm.; the smallest about 10 sq. cm., but most of them were from 200 sq. cm. to 800' sq. cm. in area,. Doubtless, many active and comparatively large foraging animals, such as small fishes or adult insects, escaped while the net was surrounding and enveloping the mass. Probably comparatively few of the smaller forms were lost through the fine silk mesh of the net. The volume of the mass was then computed in cubic centimeters. As the mass sometimes lay in thin layers and sometimes in thicker masses, the proportion of volume to surface was seldom the same. About 200 cu. cm. was the average. The components of the blanket were determined and all forms, -plant and animal, were listed and their size and relative abundance noted. The collections were made during the fall and early winter of 1912 and the spring and early summer of 1913. Location and Character of the Pools.-The pools are all located in the vicinity of Cornell University campus at