ORIGIN OF LOWEST ORGANISMS. 37 



these fungus-spores, of multitudes of organic fragments, 

 which in accordance with the views of Liebig, 

 Gerhardt, and other chemists are capable of acting 

 as ferments. To this latter consideration M. Pasteur 

 never even alludes when he speaks (loc. cit. p. 40) of his 

 " ensemencements," and of other experiments which 

 are equally, or even more, capable of being interpreted 

 in accordance with Liebig's views than with his own. 



Bearing these considerations in mind, we shall be in 

 a better position to enquire into the real interpretation 

 that may be given to many of M. Pasteur's results, 

 and into the question as to how far the facts which he 

 records are favourable to his own, or to the adverse 

 doctrine concerning the causes of fermentation. 



In the memoir so often alluded to on " The Organ- 

 ized Corpuscles which exist in the Atmosphere," M. 

 Pasteur adduced various kinds of evidence, tending, 

 as he thought, to show that the first Bacteria which 

 make their appearance in putrefying or fermenting solu- 

 tions, have been derived from living Bacteria or their 

 " germs," which pre-existed in the atmosphere. 



Some of the experiments by which he endea- 

 voured to substantiate this position were of a very 

 simple nature. Their narration attracted much atten- 

 tion at the time, as it was supposed that by their 

 means M. Pasteur had as he professed conclu- 

 sively shown the erroneousness of the views of those 

 who believed in what was called " spontaneous gene- 



