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the same grounds : “ I observed the fu n g i were gradually losing
their colour, and small flakes of the jelly-like spawn became
evident in several spots on the inner surface of the glass ; and
after the glass had stood at rest three days longer, I found the
fu n g i had entirely lost their colour, and the new-formed spawn
had increased considerably ; and on bringing a small portion of
the substance within the field of the microscope, I found the
white spawn the same in appearance as that which I found in
the original bottle, and a great many very minute colourless
young fu n g i were adhering to its surface.” In some specimens,
especially such as occurred on dead leaves, &c. I observed
frequently fine filaments resembling an Oscillatoria, but they
did not present themselves in all ; and therefore, though Baron
IV RANGEL has represented them in his figure as part of
the plant, I regard them as merely adventitious bodies.
It is very remarkable that my friend A g a r d h should have
omitted to notice the subjacent gelatinous mass ; and from his
having created his genus Protococcus on the single character
“ Glohuli aggregati non mucosi,” I was at first inclined to follow
Professor H o o k e r , and place the plant in the genus Palmella.
Upon reconsideration, however, the character of the
naked globules, and the remarkable fact of the escape of internal
granules, induce me to keep up the genus Protococcus,
with an amended character.
Several conjectures have been hazarded in regard to the
production of this plant, its origin, and the cause of its red colour.
One theory will be found in the following memoir.
The impression that it is precipitated from the atmosphere does
not seeem to be removed from the minds of many : “ J ’ai déjà
rappellé ailleurs,” says the illustrious H u m b o i . d t (Ann. de
Chimie, xiv. p. 42.), “ qu’au Paramo de Guanacos, où le chemin
de Bogota à Popayan, passe à la hauteur de 2300 toises,
on a vû tomber, non de la neige, mais de la grêle rouge. Renfermait
elles ces tnêmes germes d’organization végétale qui ont
été découvertes au-de-là du cercle polaire ?” Well might N e e s
AB E s e n b e c k exclaim, “ Never, perhaps, was one of the most
important questions that could be suggested hy the naturalist
so near being decided. I f it had been actually examined, and
if the same organic vegetable bodies had been detected as in
the Bed Snow, there would scarcely he any doubt remaining,
concerning the meteorological origin of those infusorial bodies,
which become algæ after existing for a time in a state of animal
being
If I understand the passage correctly, it does not appear that
H u m b o l d t himself saw the fall of Bed Hail. Eor my own
part, I am willing to attribute a much more humble origin to
the Bed Snow. Like other Algæ, moisture seems essential to
its production ; and hitherto this plant has not been found in
places where it was debarred from this pabulum, at some period
of its growth. But, once formed, it seems to possess the
power of remaining stationary, and perhaps of reviving after
having been preserved for an unlimited period. In the Arctic
Regions, it was discovered on snow, on rocks, on decayed mosses,
and on the bare soil. In Scotland, its locality is curious. The
Island of Lismore, in which it is found, is very low, 10 miles
in length by only 1-2 in breadth, and resting on a limestone
rock, of a slate-hlue colour. “ I t occurs,” says my friend Capt.
C a r m i c h a e l , “ in abundance on the borders of the lakes of
Lismore, spreading over the decayed reeds, leaves, &c. at the
water’s edge, hut in greater perfection on the calcareous rocks
within the reach of occasional inundation ; and, what is rather
remarkable, it seems to thrive equally well whether immersed
or exposed to the dry atmosphere. I t is to be found more or
less àt all seasons of the year.” If wc connect this relation with
the circumstance, that the red colour in the snow appears only
after the snow has begun to melt, we may surely conclude that
moisture is necessary for the original production of this Alga.
Its seeds are exceedingly minute ; hut how they reach the surface
of the snow in some cases,it is difficult to conjecture, though
this difficulty ceases, when the snow is on a lower level than
the surrounding rock. In 1818, M. C h a r p e n t i e r found Bed
Snow on the Alp Anceindaz, near Bex ; and six or seven years
before, it was observed by T h o m a s on the Alp Bovonas, three
hours journey from Bex, at a place called les Planards. The red