* jauruaifjlm°ri«a'J ^oijcil ^licroscopical Sociehj. 9 



infusion which has a close general agreement with that of marble. 

 When a drop of the latter has been kept on a slip for twenty-four 

 hours, a number of the small white bodies met with in the chalk 

 infusion may be seen moving raj)idly across the field. There are 

 also great numbers of minute spherical bodies, such as are met with 

 in the chalk infusion, although of a different colour, and they appear 

 to have a short fibrous j)rolongation at one end. In the marble 

 infusion I have, moreover, on several occasions found small jelly-like 

 organisms, which progress by a sudden spring or with a spinning 

 motion, and also minute forms like air-bubbles, which protrude from 

 larger bodies, and slowly move from side to side. The development 

 of fibrous growth in chalk prepares us to find this organic phase 

 even in marble. In fact, I have met with it more plentifully in the 

 latter than in the former, and generally, moreover, of a more truly 

 vegetable appearance. While some of the vegetable growth consists, 

 hke that in chalk, of long flat greyish fibres, with small crystal 

 accretions attached ; at other times there is the same fibrous stem, 

 but it has what seems to be a true foliage, much resembling that of 

 the coal fibre, although of a grey colour and of a more crystalhne 

 appearance. 



There is another mineral which, notwithstanding the apparent 

 hopelessness of extracting any phase of vitality from it, 1 have 

 experimented with, and with much the same curious results as 

 those already detailed. I refer to the ordmary emery of commerce. 

 This, when first placed in water and viewed under the microscope, 

 does not differ much in general appearance from that which it pre- 

 sents after it has been "infused" for several weeks. When examined 

 at this subsequent period the infusion will be found to contain nume- 

 rous small bodies of various shapes, having a rapid vibratory mo- 

 tion. The greater part of the emery, however, somewhat resembles 

 peculiar vegetation, of a dark colour by transmitted light, although 

 by reflected light it is evidently red. Combined with this are 

 numerous masses of a whitish, gelatinous-looking substance, almost 

 exactly resembling that which is produced in connection with the 

 vegetation of the coal infusion. The most curious phenomenon I 

 have yet noticed is in connection with this emery crystalline sub- 

 stance. Projections from the black vegetable-looking matter often 

 move to and fro ; portions of it are sometimes protruded and drawn 

 in again, much like what sometimes occurs in the marble infusion ; 

 and beautiful httle "bubbles" occasionally show themselves. In 

 the emery infusion alone, however, have I met with the protrusion 

 of " fleshy " tongues. Indeed, on one occasion only have I seen 

 it with certainty even in this, and then not untd the drop of infu- 

 sion I was examining had been on the slip for several hours. The 

 forms of these protrusions were different. Of the two which I 

 observed most attentively, one was white with black markings^ and 



