330 REV. JAMES FARQUHARSON ON THE ICE 



entertained by some persons who have never witnessed it, and which M. Arago, in 

 he paper referred to, has deemed it necessary to remove, by bringing forward the 

 estimony of many distinguished men to its reality. The ice formed at the bottom 

 does not resemble the solid glass-like plates which are formed on the surface. It 

 has nearly the aspect of the aggregated masses of snow as they are seen floating in 

 rivers during a heavy snow shower ; but, on taking it out of the water, it is found 

 to be of a much firmer consistence than these, although never approaching to the 

 firmness and solidity of surface ice. It is a cavernous mass of various-sized, bat all 

 small, pieces or crystals of ice, adhering together in an apparently irregular manner 

 by their sides, or angles, or points, promiscuously. Both the firmness of the adhe- 

 sion and the dimensions of the interstices (the latter filled with water, and their 

 volume easily estimated by the quantity of it which is discharged when the ice is 

 lifted out of the stream,) are, however, greatly modified by the intensity and continu- 

 ance of the previous cold. When the ice begins first to form on the bottoms of the 

 streams, it presents a rudely symmetrical appearance, which, for illustration, may be 

 compared to little hearts of cauliflowers, fixed on the bottom, having a similar uni- 

 form circular outline and protuberance in the centre, with coral-like projections. 

 These pieces have a shining silvery aspect ; they are dispersed, at first irregularly, in 

 small numbers, but increase both in size and numbers, till the whole bottom is 

 covered, and, if the frost continues severe, grow in height, but in a very irregular 

 manner, so as to obliterate the earlier somewhat symmetrical shapes, till the streams 

 are raised high above their former levels, and frequently made to overflow their 

 banks. And here I take the opportunity to notice the incorrectness of an observa- 

 tion of Desmarest, quoted by M. Arago, and which, M. Arago i bserves, no one has 

 corroborated, " that it was from the lower parts, which touched the bottom, that the 

 flakes of ice successively increased." On the contrary, the forms of the surface of the 

 earlier masses are continually obscured, in succession, by new ice added to the top. 



This congealed mass being thus very different in appearance and consistence from 

 the sheets or plates generally known by the name of ice, it were no doubt well that, 

 like the Germans, who, M. Arago informs us, name it grundeis, we too designated it 

 by another name, to prevent confusion or misapprehension when we refer to it. The 

 inhabitants of this part of the country will furnish us with a better one than even 

 that of the Germans. In a district where it occurs almost every winter, and often 

 repeatedly during that season, and where many of the rivers are crossed by means of 

 fords, its existence influences too much their economical arrangements not to excite 

 their particular attention, especially as many horses refuse to enter any stream even 

 slightly impeded by it, being greatly alarmed by the pieces which break and float up 

 from the bottom by the action of their feet. A body with which all are so well 

 acquainted is known by an appropriate name. They call it ground-gru ; gru being 

 the term by which they designate snow saturated with, or swimming in water. I 

 shall venture to use their term for the ice formed at the bottom. 



