THE FUNGUS, OR COLORLESS PLANT. 13 



sor began his lectures with yeast instead of an elephant 

 or a monkey. The yeast is really alive, and it is one of 

 the simplest forms of life of which we know ; so, in 

 order to study biology, or the Science of Life, we be- 

 gin at what seems to be the beginning. Now, where 

 does this life stay in the yeast ? You see, the yeast is 

 not solid like wheat or corn, but liquid like milk or 

 soup ; but milk is not alive, you cannot sow it ; nor will 

 it grow and make more milk, else the milkmen would 

 soon be finding it out, and what large crops of milk 

 they would sow ! 



All that I have described, you can see with your own 

 eyes, but now I must begin to tell you something 

 about the yeast which you could never find out with 

 your eyes alone, sharp as they are. It is not liquid, like 

 the milk, but contains a great many little solid bodies 

 floating about in it, and so small that you cannot see 

 them with the naked eye. They never would have 

 been seen had it not been for the microscope. The 

 word is made of two words, which mean " little " and 

 " to view," so this instrument makes little objects look 

 many hundred times larger than they are ; for instance, 

 the dust which rubs off on your fingers from the butter- 

 fly's wing, looks as large as the feathers of a canary-bird. 

 You must find out who invented the microscope, and 

 save your pin-money till you get enough to buy one. 



