58 THE SOUTH AND ITS SCIENTIFIC SCOPE 



finding sufficient cause without electricity, phosphoric 

 water, dead animal matter, or anything further than living 

 animals (generally Entomostraca Crustacea if anybody 

 asks you). These little shrimps are particularly numerous, 

 especially two species of them, thousands of one kind being 

 caught in one night. The library of Natural History that 

 you fitted me out with is to me worth any money. Blainville's 

 Actinologie and Edwardes' Crustaceae are particularly useful, 

 as by them I can name many old species and detect the 

 wonderful new forms I meet with. My collection amounts 

 to about 200 drawings done from nature under the micro- 

 scope. ... As I am learning to use my left eye to the 

 microscope, I do not find my eyesight affected even by 

 candlelight. 



His discovery of the Antarctic infusoria is recorded step 

 by step in his Journal. To begin with, he writes on February 

 15, 1841, inlat. 76 S.: 



Much young ice was seen to-day of a light brown colour ; 

 when dissolved in water it deposited a very fine sediment, 

 composed of exceedingly minute, transparent, flat quad- 

 rangular flakes, each formed of numerous parallel prisms of 

 a perfectly regular form, giving each flake a fluted appear- 

 ance ; numerous circular discs, also transparent, were 

 scattered among them ; they were very minutely reticu- 

 lated, and had often opaque centres. All the young ice was 

 very full of it ; when lifted out of the water it did not appear 

 discoloured ; many acres were covered with it. I suppose 

 it to be some insoluble salt, whose appearance is probably 

 connected with the volcano. 



This facile conclusion impressed itself on the other officers ; 

 Boss himself forgot to correct it by Hooker's fuller examination, 

 and (Voyage, I. 243, II. 146 ; cp. II. 332) records the general 

 belief that the colouring matter consisted of fine ashes from 

 Mount Erebus, eighty miles away, while ascribing the deter- 

 mination of its real nature to Ehrenberg, who examined speci- 

 mens after their return. But against this note in Hooker's 

 own copy are penned the words : * I recognised them as 

 diatoms, &c., at the time. J. D. Hooker.' 



