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 j the prevalent size being about 

 STIR/' * n diameter, though one was seen as much 

 as TnyV/' in 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 j others had already 

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

 in diameter, and in which were scattered some colour- 



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