LIBRARY 

 NEW YORK 



JOUENAL 



GARDEN 



OF THE 



ROYAL MICROSCOPICAL SOCIETY. 



AUGUST 1882. 



TRANSACTIONS OF THE SOCIETY. 



X. — On some Micro-organisms from Rainwater-Ice, and Hail. 

 By E. L. Maddox, M.D., Hon. F.E.M.S., &c. 



{Read 10th May, 1882.) 



The study of the minute organisms belonging to the Schizophytes 

 is one of special interest, for they touch the final history of all 

 living beings, and very possibly hasten, if they do not actually 

 cause, premature death. The researches within late years by very 

 able microscopists and members of the medical profession have been 

 numerous, though far from exhaustive. They embrace almost 

 every field of inquiry, as the valuable Summary in the pages of the 

 Journal of the Society so well attests ; hence, some one may have 

 preceded me in similar observations, as ice, hail, snow, rain, and 

 dew have each been often examined ; I am not aware, however, that 

 the points I have to mention have been specially noticed ; and I 

 therefore trust they may not be wholly devoid of interest, even in 

 their incompleteness. 



The winter of 1880-81 was of considerable severity from the ex- 

 treme cold, which if already forgotten, allow me to recall to memory, 

 by stating the fact that at my residence, one day whilst at dinner, 

 with a good fire in the room, water when poured into a tumbler 

 immediately became a mass of beautiful ice-crystals. The out-of- 

 door temperature for several days was such, that the rain-water in 

 crc the open garden rain-water butt was frozen to the depth of more 

 ^ than 12 inches. When the thaw occurred, I placed a large block 

 of the ice, after well draining, in a clean new pan, and removed it 

 O into the house, set it in a tireless room, and covered it carefully 

 frl from the dust. Three days later I noticed a thin scum extending 

 (2, over the entire surface of the water in the butt, and at once put 

 ^ some on a slide and examined it with the Microscope. It was 

 found to be a mass of micro-organisms lying in a pellicle inter- 

 mixed with particles of soot, dust, and a few minute oily-looking 

 Ser. 2.— Vol. II. 2 H 



