FEBRUARY. 75 



with equal fidelity reveals to me in the precious drop I have 

 submitted to its lenses, and which was gathered from some Arc- 

 tic iceberg — where, with its kindred and sister drops, it was the 

 stained surface of the polar snow, — the lowest form of plant- 

 life, the Jirst and primitive vegetation of the most northern 

 regions, and perchance the most primitive form of vegetable 

 life on our planet. These myriad little specks of carmine 

 tints exhibit each a definite contour — each a distinct organ- 

 ism — each a separate vitality — each a prospective continu- 

 ance, and all, (though thus simple, — thus insignificant, in 

 themselves alone considered,) when combined, serve to glad- 

 den the desert ice field, the lofty situated glacier, the Arctic 

 summer, with their singular beauty. The microscope has 

 shown me the Protococcus nivalis : let us hear what our own 

 noble countryman Dr. Kane says of this vegetable feature of 

 the polar seas : — 



" In a short time we reached the ' Crimson Cliff's of Bev- 

 erly,' the seat of the often described red snoio. — The scanty 

 patches of snow were tinged with a brick dust or brown 

 stain. As yet indeed we could not see the ' Crimson ' of Sir 

 John Ross, who gave to this spot its somewhat euphonious 

 title : but the locality was not without indications which 

 should excuse this gallant navigator from imputations against 

 his veracity of narrative. The bright red outcroppings of 

 feldspar, the scarlet patches of a lichen, {Lepraria) which 

 was in extreme abundance, &c. &c., combine with the snow 

 in such a manner as to give, at a distance, the tint which he 

 has described. — The object which seemed to usurp the un- 

 divided attention of the party was the red snoiv. It abound- 

 ed wherever a hollow gave protection from excessive wind 

 or thaw. It was never seen unless associated with foreign 

 matter, such as the fronds of lichens or filaments of moss. I 

 observed that the color of the Protococcus was most decided- 

 where they were in greatest abundance. I gathered it at 

 Barlow's Inlet and Point Innes, on both sides of Wellington 

 Sound and in Baffin's Bay, at various points, as high as lati- 

 tude 76*^ 15', but in no instance, throughout this extended 

 range, from snow unsullied by extraneous vegetable matter. 



