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small bodies. Not being a professed microscopist I shall not 
attempt a description, but add that they clearly belonged to 
the organic world, and were not in all cases mere debris. 
We found also one body a good deal larger than the rest ; it 
resembled somewhat a paramecium, although clearly not one. 
We found no motion whatever, and only this latter sub- 
stance could be adduced as an absolute proof of anything 
organized being present. Next day I examined the same 
liquid ; and, whether from the fact of time being given for 
development or from other causes, there was a very abundant 
motion. There were at least six specimens in the field at a 
time, of a body resembling the euglena, although smaller 
than I have seen it. When these minute bodies occur it is 
clear that more may exist, and germs in this early stage are 
too indefinite to be described. The existence of vital sparks 
in the organic substances in the air alluded to is all I wish 
to assert, confirming by a different method the observations 
of others. It might, of course, be said that since the bottle 
was opened at Mr. Dancer’s the air at that place may have 
communicated them. I answer that, before it was opened, 
a good glass could detect floating matter, some of it, how- 
ever, as in the microscope proved, indefinite enough. 
Finding this, and fearing that the long time needful to 
collect liquid from the atmosphere might expose it also to 
much dust, I used a bottle of about 100 cubic inches 
dimensions, and putting with it a very little water, not 
above five cub. centimetres, I pumped out the air of the 
bottle, allowing the air of the place to enter. This was 
done six times for each sample, the water shaken each 
time, and the result examined. This was done with the 
same bottle that was used in my early experiments with 
permanganate, and by the same method, except that water 
instead of that salt was used. At first considerable num- 
bers of moving particles were found ; but it was needful to 
examine the water used, and here occurred a difficulty. It 
