On Micro-organisms from Ice, dto. By Dr. Maddox. 453 



The average size is from the imro-o- to the rsi^s of an inch in 

 length ; some looked round, others like elongated micrococci, and 

 when fission was about to occur very like ordinary bacteria. As 

 they were when free motionless, I felt inclined to suppose them to 

 be micrococci, but from some cultivation experiments I believe they 

 must be termed bacteria. 



Thus a speck of the pellicle was placed on freshly boiled white 

 of egg, and kept carefully covered and turned down without touch- 

 ing anything except by the broken shell edge. The second day, 

 about thirty-six hours after the inoculation, on removing a minute 

 portion and diluting it with distilled water, it presented an in- 

 credible crowd of bacteria in rapid motion, resembling closely, if 

 not actually, Bacterium termo. On the sixth day the white of 

 egg, at the spot of inoculation and for some distance beyond, pre- 

 sented a beautiful pale canary-yellow colour, and on the eleventh 

 day a bright deep rose-coloured spot also appeared, very closely to 

 the seat of puncture, consisting of motionless micrococci. This 

 has been successfully cultivated through several generations on the 

 same medium. 



A portion of the original pellicle placed on peptonized gela- 

 tine jelly on the thin cover, and this placed over a tin cell 

 cemented to an ordinary slide, the surface of the tin circle being 

 smeared with vaseline (as recommended, I believe, by an American 

 microscopist), except at two small opposite points, and then kept at 

 the temperature of about 58° F., had on the second day so 

 softened the gelatine by the changes induced in it, that the 

 spot of inoculation was quite fluid, teeming with minute organisms 

 in most rapid motion ; hence, as several inoculations were made, 

 and with like results, I conclude that chiefly bacteria and only few 

 micrococci existed in the hail in a quiescent or resting stage, and 

 when supplied with proper nutriment and more favourable condi- 

 tions, the organisms, suited to the circumstances, quickly turned 

 from the quiescent state to one of the greatest activity. Of course 

 I do not pretend there may not have been different varieties in the 

 hail, for the organisms of rain-water have been found to determine 

 butyric, lactic, ammoniacal and putrefactive fermentation ; but 

 what appears to me probable is, that one if not more amongst the 

 organisms supported the temperature, whatever that might have 

 been, that determined the formation of hail, remaining in an 

 almost quiescent state, for I believe the Bacteria have their resting 

 stage, and that the more advantageous conditions of nutriment 

 and temperature speedily determined activity. The general mass 

 of the jelly remained free from visible change. Before actual 

 fluidity of the material occurred, close to the inoculated spot, 

 numerous small, round, grey, finely granular, ascococcus-looking 



