Construction
The column is a rough mixture of ingredients - exact measurements are not critical. A tall glass or plastic tube (30cm long, >5cm wide) is filled one third full of pond mud, omitting any sticks, debris, air bubbles. Supplementation of ~0.25% w/w calcium carbonate and ~0.50% w/w calcium sulfate or sodium sulfate is required. Mixed in with some shredded newspaper or hay (for cellulose), ground egg-shell and egg yolk respectively are rich in these minerals. An additional anaerobic layer, this time of un-supplemented mud, brings the container to two thirds full. This is followed by water from the pond to saturate the mud and occupy half the remaining volume. The column is sealed tightly to prevent evaporation of water and incubated for several months in strong natural light.
Read more about this topic: Winogradsky Column
Famous quotes containing the word construction:
“No construction stiff working overtime takes more stress and straining than we did just to stay high.”
—Gus Van Sant, U.S. screenwriter and director, and Dan Yost. Bob Hughes (Matt Dillon)
“When the leaders choose to make themselves bidders at an auction of popularity, their talents, in the construction of the state, will be of no service. They will become flatterers instead of legislators; the instruments, not the guides, of the people.”
—Edmund Burke (1729–1797)
“The construction of life is at present in the power of facts far more than convictions.”
—Walter Benjamin (1892–1940)