THE BEGINNINGS OF LIFE. 



461 



to have a 

 ■^e whitish 

 ^f minute 

 he deposit 

 erules, but 

 :hings \ 

 ■ amnionic 

 Lte in one 



'as not in 

 it the ex- 

 »vas found 

 11 amount 



• the tube, 



am on the 

 le deposit 

 ; rounded 



us colouf- 

 nless ro'i- 



t,if 



the so 

 in the f»^ 



i 





like bodies from ^^Vo-" to ttotf" iii length (crystalline ?), 

 but no trace of living things, either amongst them or 

 suspended in the fluid itself. 



Experiment w. A solution containing an unweighed 

 quantity of ammonic carbonate and sodic phosphate in 



distilled water. 



The fluid was at first somewhat whitish and clouded. 

 From the twentieth to the thirtieth day a thin pellicle 

 had been seen gradually accumulating on its surface; 

 and in the latter four or five days this increased much 

 in thickness^ and gradually assumed a distinct mucoid 

 appearance. The fluid itself was tolerably clear, though 

 an apparent turbidity was given by the presence of a 

 fine whitish deposit on the sides of the glass. 



The flask was opened on the thirtieth day, and the 

 reaction of the fluid was then found to be neutral. 

 When submitted to microscopical examination portions 



4 



of the pellicle were seen to be made up of large, 

 irregular, and highly-refractive particles, imbedded in 

 a transparent jelly-like material. The particles were 



most varied in 



many of them 



variously branched and knobbed. Several very delicate 



perfectly hyaline vesicles about 



ft 



2000 



in diameter, 



altogether free from solid contents, were seen ; and, in 

 addition, there were a number of figure-of-8 bodies, 

 exhibiting tolerably 

 which was about 



active vibrations, each half of 



20000 



in diameter. 



A subsequent careful examination, on the same 

 evening, of a quantity of the granular matter of the 



