f 6 4S ] • 
water : but my endeavours were fruftrated by the 
water, which adhering to the little liar, as I took it 
up, was inftantly frozen, and turned its figure, that 
was fo exadtly formed, to a cruft. 
And, as by comparing the icy ftars, in the fur- 
face of the ftanding water, with thofe of fnow, it 
feemed to me very likely, that the minute parts of 
ice had the fame external configurations with thofe of 
fnow, when the air was coldeft, 1 prep red in the year 1 
1740, to make the moft minute obfervations, and 
the moft exadt drawings in my power of the moft 
perfedt figures of fnow, whi.h were not very irre- 
gular, the weather being then very favourable for the 
purpofe. 
I firft made ufe of double convex gifts lenfes 
of about an inch focus ; then I ufed a compound 
microfcope confiding of an objedt, and an eye glafs, 
or two eye glafles, invented and carried to England 
by Corn. Drebelli is, an ingenious philofopher, as 
Huygen c , in his Dioptrics, and others affert 3 and 
brought to greater perfedtion by the induftrious En- 
glifh, by the addition of a concave fpeculum, placed 
under tire objedt glafs, in order to reftedt a better 
light, and render the objedt more confpicuous. 
The weather being intenfely cold, the fnow, which 
fell, was hard, intire, and pellucid, andfome parti- 
cles being received upon a pencil, were placed upon 
a plane glafs plate under the objedt glafs : the greateft: 
care was taken, that the fmalleft particles might not 
be diftolved, either by the breath, or perfpiration of 
the hands, left the little angles might, by the leafb 
degree of warmth, difappear. And thus, with this 
apparatus and thefe precautions, the extreme ex- 
Vol. 49. 4N adtnejfc 
