58 THE SOUTH AND ITS SCIENTIFIC SCOPE 
finding sufficient cause without electricity, phosphoric 
water, dead animal matter, or anything further than living 
animals (generally Entomostraca Crustacea if anybody 
asks you). These Httle shrimps are particularly numerous, 
especially two species of them, thousands of one kind being 
caught in one night. The hbrary of Natural History that 
you fitted me out with is to me worth any money. Blainville's 
Actinologie and Edwardes' Crustaceae are particularly useful, 
as by them I can name many old species and detect the 
wonderful new forms I meet with. My collection amounts 
to about 200 drawings done from nature under the micro- 
scope. ... As I am learning to use my left eye to the 
microscope, I do not find my ej'-esight affected even by 
candlelight. 
His discovery of the Antarctic infusoria is recorded step 
by step in his Journal. To begin with, he ^viites on February 
15, 1841, inlat. 76° S. : 
Much young ice was seen to-day of a light brown colour ; 
when dissolved in water it deposited a very fbae sediment, 
composed of exceedingly minute, transparent, flat quad- 
rangular flakes, each formed of numerous parallel prisms of 
a perfectly regular form, giving each flake a fluted appear- 
ance ; numerous circular discs, also transparent, were 
scattered among them ; they were very minutely reticu- 
lated, and had often opaque centres. All the young ice was 
very full of it ; when lifted out of the water it did not appear 
discoloured ; many acres were covered with it. I suppose 
it to be some insoluble salt, whose appearance is probably 
connected with the volcano. 
This facile conclusion impressed itself on the other officers ; 
Ross himself forgot to correct it by Hooker's fuller examination, 
and (Voyage, I. 243, II. 146 ; cp. II. 332) records the general 
belief that the colouring matter consisted of fine ashes from 
Mount Erebus, eighty miles away, while ascribing the deter- 
mination of its real nature to Ehrenberg, who examined speci- 
mens after their return. But against this note in Hooker's 
own copy are penned the words : ' I recognised them as 
diatoms, &c., at the time. J. D. Hooker.' 
