Marvels of the Universe 1147 
But the first attempt at 
describing Red Snow in a 
scientific manner was made by 
De Saussure, who came upon 
it during a tour in the Savoy 
Mountains in 1760, and started 
a series of inquiries which were 
carried on more or less inter- 
mittently for the best part of 
a century. At length it has 
been satisfactorily proved that 
the phenomenon is due to the 
presence in the snow of in- 
numerable hosts of little alge 
or primitive plants, which take 
on a red hue, or, as is more 
usual, a green. The condition 
which produces the growth 
seems to be the temporary 
melting of the snow by the 
sun’s rays, for the plant is 
only to be found on the top- 
most layers of the snowfield. 
Its name is Spherella, so 
called from the spherical shape 
of each member of the ruddy 
community. It is very minute 
and can only be seen distinctly 
under a microscope ; then it will 
be found that each individual 
consists of a single cell, but 
this may be round or oval. ea ey 
The round are the maturer HARPY EAGLE. 
The largest existing bird of prey. It is a native of Tropical America, and preys 
(Sir H. H. Johnston, G.C.M.G. 
members of the company. mainly upon four-footed animals of fair size. Its claws are far more terrible weapons 
Their substance is com- _ than its beak. 
pletely made up of protoplasm ; and careful observation will detect a slight tint of green, due to the 
presence of chlorophyll, but this is almost entirely overcome by a rich red pigment contained in the 
cell which is sufficiently brilliant to make noticeable the presence of the minute Spheerella on the snow. 
The oval, or young, cells are supplied with a couple of moving threads or cilia, which are con- 
stantly rotating and so give the plant the power of motion, a quality that the round cell does not 
possess. The reproduction of the species is provided for by the subdivision of the protoplasm 
within the cell. Such subdivision is shown in the illustration on page 1146. After a time the 
parent cell ruptures and the young cells escape into the outer world, where, by means of the cilia 
mentioned above, they can enjoy a brief period of excitement and motion. Soon they lose the oval 
and assume the rounded shape, and pass through the same stages of maturity as their progenitor. 
Red Snow has been found in many parts of the world—the Swiss Alps, the Tyrol, the Carpathians, 
Northern Scandinavia, and on the Sierra Nevada, but it is more definitely connected with the 
Crimson Cliffs of Greenland, which were so named by the explorer Ross because of their markedly 
rich coloration due to the presence of the Red Snow plant. 
