36 THE FOKMS OF WATEK IN 



than water ; so that when ice is melted it shrinks in 

 size. Can the liquid flowers then occupy the whole 

 space of the ice melted? Plainly no. A little empty 

 space is formed with the flowers, and this space, or 

 rather its surface, shines in the sun with the lustre of 

 burnished silver. 



99. In all cases the flowers are formed parallel to 

 the surface of freezing. They are formed when the 

 sun shines upon the ice of every lake ; sometimes in 

 myriads, and so small as to require a magnifying glass 

 to see them. They are always attainable, but their 

 beauty is often marred by internal defects of the ice. 

 Even one portion of the same piece of ice may slur*? 

 them exquisitely, while a second portion shows them 

 imperfectly. 



100. Annexed is a very imperfect sketch of these 

 beautiful figures. 



101. Here we have a reversal of the process of 

 crystallization. The searching solar beam is delicate 

 enough to take the molecules down without deranging 

 the order of their architecture. Try the experiment for 

 yourself with a pocket-lens on a sunny day. You will 

 not find the flowers confused ; they all lie parallel to 

 the surface of freezing. In this exquisite way every 

 bit of the ice over which our skaters glide in winter is 

 put together. 



102. I said in (97) that a portion of the sunbeam wah 

 stopped by the ice and liquefied it. What is this 



