54 ANIMALCULA OF INFUSIONS. h 



how many, they produced a legion of moft mi- 

 nute animalcula. 



In the courfe of the following winter, animal- 

 cula were expofed to new trials, and the refult cor- 

 refponded with that formerly obtained. Though 

 under the freezing point, the infufions continued 

 fluid, from the vegetable oil they contained, and 

 not a particle of ice was to be feen : yet the ani- 

 malcula of many died, except fome more robuft 

 fpecies, on which I determined, for that reafon, 

 to make further experiments. During this winter,. 

 1 put the animalcula that the cold had not been 

 able to kill without the window in an exccffively 

 cold day. The thermometer fell to 19°; and the 

 infufions, hitherto preferving their fluidity, were 

 covered with a thin crufl of ice. Breaking 

 this crufl, and applying fome particles to the 

 microfcope, in the parts not completely hardened, 

 I faw animalcula ftill alive, immerfed in little 

 caverns of ice (i) : but in the portions abfolutely 

 frozen and dry, they were dead and motionlefs ^ 

 nor did they revive after melting the ice. Where 

 the water was perfedly fluid, the animals were 

 quite vivacious (2). 



This 



( 1 ) The author means, he took the pieces when begin- 

 ning to freeze; for water expofed at 19*? would verj' 

 foon become a folid lump of ice. — T. 



( 2 ) Tlie illuftrious Muller of Copenhagen has met with \ 



fome 





