"The Nature of Snow . 
by the microfcope, to be full of minute globules of crude 
and unaltered mercury; which fhews, that thofe chy- 
mical preparations are not fo purely exalted and prepared 
as they are prefumed to be, nor the mercury any way 
tranfmuted, but by an atomical divifion rendered in- 
fenfible- 
The nature of fnow. 
s 
ANY of the parts of fnow are for the mod: part 
J.VJL of a regular figure, and as it were fo many rowels 
or ftars with fix points, and are as perfect and tranfparent 
ice 9 as any we fee on a pool of water; at each of thefe 
fix points are fet other collateral points, and thefe always 
at the fame angles with the principal points themfelves ; 
tliat amongft thefe, many others alike regular, but far 
fmaller, may be difcovered; there are alfo fome others, 
which feem to have loft their regularity, by various winds, 
being fir ft gently thawed, and then frozen again into 
irregular mafies ; from all which, fnow feems to be an 
infinite number of icicles, regularly figured, not only in 
fome few parts thereof, but originally in the whole body 
of it ; not fo much as one particle of fo many millions 
being originally indeterminate or irregular; that is, a 
cloud of vapours being gathered into drops, do forthwith 
defcend ; in which defcent, meeting with a freezing wind, 
or at leaft palling through a colder region of the air, each 
drop is immediately frozen into an icicle, fhooting itfelf 
into points or icicles on all fides from the center; but 
ftill continuing their defcent, and meeting with warmer 
air, fome are thawed and blunted, others broken, but 
the greateft number cling together in feverai parcels, and 
form 
p Phil, Tranf, No. 92, 
