THE BEGINNINGS OF LIFE. 465 



It was found that the tube acted as a water-hammer 

 only to a trifling extent before it was opened, though, 

 when the narrow end of the tube was broken off, there 

 was a slight dull report, and a quantity of small particles 

 of glass were swept by the in-rush of air into the 

 fluid. There had still, then, been a partial vacuum in 

 the tube. The reaction of the fluid was found to be 

 slightly acid. 



. This tube was opened in Dr, Sharpey's presence. 

 He had examined the white masses previously with a 

 pocket-lens, and when the vessel was broken the larger 

 white mass issued with some of the first portions of 

 the fluid, which were poured into a large watch-glass. 

 It was at once taken up on the point of a penknife 

 and transferred to a clean glass slip, where it was im- 

 mersed in a drop of the experimental fluid and then 

 protected .by a thin glass cover. On microscopical 

 examination, we at once saw that the whitish mass 

 was composed of a number of rounded and ovoidal 

 spores, with mycelial filaments issuing from them, in 

 all stages of development. The spores varied much in 

 shape and dimensions ; the prevalent size being about 

 ^--Vo" in diameter, though one was seen as much 

 as o-^oo" m diameter. They all possessed a single and 

 rather large nucleus, which was mostly made up of an 

 aggregation of granular particles. Some were just begin- 

 ning to develop mycelial filaments others had already 

 given origin to such filaments, which were about ^Vo" 

 in diameter, and in which were scattered some colour- 



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