54 
POPULAR SCIENCE REVIEW. 
to represent the loveliness generated in a lump of ice by 
the mere passage of a sunbeam through its substance. Let 
the reader test this assertion for himself, and not rest satisfied 
by looking at the drawing. With a little patience and care 
nothing can be easier than to reproduce the phenomena. Al l 
that is necessary is to procure a block of Wenham Lake ice r 
saw a slice from it in the direction named, smooth the sides 
by rubbing on a warm metal plate, hold the slab close to 
a candle or gas flame, and during its disintegration observe 
the ice, assisting the eye by a lens,— the formation of the 
exquisite six-petalled liquid flowers will then be instructively 
and distinctly seen. 
When ice is examined late in the season, a cloudy appear- 
ance is seen within it, looking very much as if a kind of 
angular dust had permeated the block and arranged itself in 
strise parallel with the bubbles : this appearance is shown in 
the lower part of the engraving. The heat of a gas flame 
expands each of these points into a liquid spot with a 
crimpled border ; in fact, it is an incipient ice-flower, such as is 
shown among the enlarged drawings in the upper part of the 
plate. All the flowers begin in this way ; as the heat continues 
their petals get more pronounced, and, becoming serrated, ex- 
hibit the successive changes represented by a b c cl in the upper 
engraving. Still holding the ice before the flame, fern-like 
spiculae will generally be seen shooting downwards, in planes 
inclined to each other at angles of 60°. The appearance of 
the ice at this stage is shown in the plate. At first the ice 
breaks up into a honeycomb structure, the axes of the i*ude 
hexagons being perpendicular to the flowers, and their sides 
composed of water ; and finally it is sometimes possible, by a 
smart tap, to cause the ice to fall to pieces into irregular six- 
sided prisms. 
Thus crystalline and beautiful is the structure of ice. 
One can never tire of looking at its dissolution, but recurs 
to it again and again, each time with fresh delight, as 
some new feature is discovered. Indeed, I know of no source 
whence keener and purer intellectual joy can be derived, than 
from a right and intelligent examination of a block of ice. 
And when we think of whole icebergs and Polar seas, and, to 
a certain extent, glaciers constructed in this way, it is a con- 
tracted mind that is not impelled to inquire whence came 
this structure, so exquisite and yet so long unrecognized by 
man. Then, as the gaze passes beyond the ice and beyond 
the man, it becomes well-nigh impossible to withhold the 
conviction that both are products of the same infinite skill, 
— both designed to glorify One who employs His works as. 
witnesses of His existence. 
