;o 



NATURE 



[September \z. 1918 



natural to expect them, and to infer, further, that 

 n a variable distance into the all- 

 enveloping mass of ice and snow, to all intents and 

 purpose: free from organic life. 

 Again, n moraindc ice — macroscopically pure bul for 

 les of soil and grit in small amounl protozoan 

 like organisms were present, and in several cultures 

 r. il line, while colon ii > ol eram-posilive, stnpln lo- 

 eoeei. together with the gram-positive, sporing bacilli 

 of the white, wrinkled, adherent growth already 

 described. 



When our observations had arrived at this juncture 

 there Was a clear indication to 140 further afield in the 

 examination of the ice; ai all events, to see the 

 oi thi local bacterial flora. So specimens were 

 procured from various points, free from obvious con- 

 tamination, on the ascending glacier. 



111 In a magnetic cave, cul shaft-like through the 



slope of blue ice, about tioo yards south of the Hut, 



at an altitude of 300 ft. above the sea, were found in 



cultures cocci and diplococci, slender bacilli, and a 



Pi zoan organisms were also seen. 



(2) In cover-slip preparations 200 to 300 yards, 

 500 yards, and tooo yards south of the Hut occurred 

 , motili bacilli, yeast-like bodies, and protozoa. 



(3) The surface-ice al noo yards, altitude 300 ft., 

 yielded in culture-, cocci (staphylococci) and short, 

 stout bacilli. 



I \) At one mile, altitude 600 ft, to 700 ft., in sut 

 ippeared in cultures gram-positive staphylococci 

 and slender, gram-negative, chained bacilli. Protozoa 

 and yeast-like bodies were demonstrated in the thawed 

 ice-chips. 



(5) In the vicinity of Aladdin's Cave, five miles south 

 of the Hut, and at an altitude of 1500 ft., surface-ice 

 showed the presence of protozoa and yeast-like bodies. 

 Gram-positive cocci grew in cultures on several occa- 

 sions. 



Ice at a depth of 4 ft. contained, besides protozoa 

 and yeast-like bodies, gram-positive cocci and gram- 

 negative bacilli, all in smaller numbers than on the 

 surface. Nothing was obtained in a few cultures. 



In ice at 7 ft. — from the wall of the cave — cultures 

 were more successful, demonstrating gram-positive 

 cocci and gram-negative bacilli (probably cocco- 

 bacilli). Protozoans and yeast-like bodies wire also 

 present. 



(6) From the Cathedral Grotto — at eleven miles, and 

 1 altitude of 1800 ft. above the sea — specimens 



of ice gave in cultures growths of a gram-positive 

 coccus and a gram-negative cocco-bacillus. No 

 protozo: or veast-like bodies were observed in the 

 preparations from thawed ice. 



(71 In a position Rfty miles west of the Hut and 

 -five miles inland, nearh 4000 ft. high on the 

 plateau. r 1.1 transition between snow and 



io 1 was fo ntain cocci and bacilli in their 



usual numbers, but no protozoa or veast-like bodies 

 were seen. Man I the bacilli were clumped in 



zooglcea mas 1 Foui original cultures and 



several subcultures were isolated gram-positive cocci 

 and gram-negat icilli, similar to i1h.sc 



grown from othet 1 ;lacier-ice. 



Then, too, we should hi evidence of tin 



cultures made in \ntan rried back to Aus- 



tralia for examination. 



Tt was to Dr. J. B. 1 leland, of the Bureau of 

 Microbiology, Sydney, New v < h Wales, that we 

 indebted for a consignment of freshly prepared 

 culture-tubes which arrived by the 1 on net last 



cruise of relief in the summer of rqi -14. All the 

 tubes reached Adelie Land in, and. 



to prevent anv possible contamination by mould, had 

 1 .1 w ilh paraffin. 



NO. 2550, VOL. T02] 



On a rare calm day early in January, 1 <i 1 4 , six 

 agar tubes were taken, with a spirit-lamp and 

 platinum needle, up the slope of the glaciei nearly 



half a mile towards the south-east, where the glai i 

 could not possibly have been soiled by the many 

 sledging-parties which passed up and down durin 

 summei . 



I In re was no opportunity at the time to go fui 



afield. The sun was bright and warm, I hen- was no 

 wind, and the ice was covered with a humid sheen 

 of moisture. The tubes were inoculated from loops 

 ol liquid collected with the needle in small cups where. 

 thaw -water had accumulated. They were then can nil 

 hack to the ship and placed in an incubator, which 

 ran at a temperature varying, during blizzards, from 

 about to to 15 (.". ; as .1 general rule, the tem| 

 tun- was between lS° and 20 I 



Dr. Cleland's report shows that nine cultures of 

 ice were received, that of these, three showed no 



colonics, and were discarded, and that the remaining 



six on agar slopes exhibited growth. From three 



lubes -Masts" were isolated, two ol them giving a 

 pink growth on agar, the remaining one a creamy- 

 yellow growth. Two cultures shown! the presenci of 

 a gram-positive coccus, producing a fine growth, which 

 hi in subsequent subcultures. 

 It is a curious fact, and yet a well-known 1 xperi- 

 ence, to find that bacteria may live dormant in ice 

 for prolonged periods, and that infection 111.1 



carried through ice, but it is not so generally recognised 

 thai some bacteria prefer to grow on io Micro- 

 organisms, as a rule, are capable of resisting a low- 

 temperature when their ordinary activities cease, and 

 they tend, either as single units or in clusters, to 

 throw out a mucilaginous protein substance for their 

 protection. Ravenel, Macfadyen, and Rowland have 

 demonstrated that several bacilli will bear exposure 

 for a few days to the temperature of liquid air 

 (— 102 C. to — 183 C). More recently it has been 

 proved that certain bacteria actually survive the tem- 

 perature of liquid hydrogen (—252° C), applied for 

 so long a period as ten hours. Bearing in mind such 

 experiments conducted in vitro, we could understand 

 that certain organisms carried bv dust-motes to the 

 vicinity of the south geographical pole (at an altitude 

 of approximately 10,000 ft.) could retain their vitality 

 in a temperature of — ioo° C. (-148 F.), if ever the 

 midwinter temperature descends to such a low limit. 

 Certainly, in the prolonged insolation of the summer- 

 time, some hardy organisms on the surfaci could 

 thaw- out, become free, and increase in numbers. 



On the othei b.md, bacteria and their spores have 

 almost a defined limit of resistance to heat- 57' <".. if 

 applied long enough. Some germs are thermophilic. 

 mainly those which live and multiply in warm-blooded 

 animals; while others — in general terms, the bacteria 

 of the sea, the soil, and the air prefer the 

 temperature of their environment. 



In the Antarctic — and the same holds good of the 

 \n tic regions there is a definite fauna, comprising 

 in tbe I, .niie! case the various species of seals, whales, 

 and birds and their parasites, insect-like mites of the 

 mosses, rotifera, and a fairly prolific marine life The 

 flora of the south is summed up in tin- lichens, mosses-, 



and algae, the last-named having a vasl distribution 

 am. He's; lb. ice encircling and adhering to the con- 

 tinent. Primordial, lowest of all, and standing as 

 an evolutionary basis of the animal and vegetable 

 kingdom are the bacteria, which we may presume to 

 1 universal -clinging to the myriad dust-motes 



Which tloal from the north; descending in snow ill the 

 Antarctic plai.au; paralysed F01 lona winter months; 

 active and acclimatised in the liquid thaw of sumn 

 s,;.m. 11. in: 01 sporing in their multiplication; dor- 



