376 THE BEGINNINGS OF LIFE. 



For if, in accordance with the belief of the evolutionists, 

 different organic fluids have different initial tendencies 

 to undergo fermentation (leading to the evolution of 

 living things), it may be easily understood, that as the 

 conditions favourable to fermentation are more and more 

 restricted, certain of these fluids may altogether cease 

 to undergo such changes, others may manifest them to 

 a meagre extent, and others still, only a little more 

 fully l . When subjected to a pressure of one atmo- 

 sphere, do we not find that water boils at 31 2 F, 

 alcohol at i73F, and ether at 96 F? The restric- 

 tive condition, or atmospheric pressure, is here in 

 each case the same, only, having to do with differ- 

 ently constituted fluids, it is natural enough to look for 

 different results under the influence of like incident 

 forces. Ether raised to a temperature of ioo 3 F would 

 rapidly disappear in the form of vapour, though no such 

 result would follow the heating of water to the same 

 extent. And similarly, whilst milk might be capable of 

 yielding organisms in Schwann's apparatus, another fluid 

 less rich in organic matter might fail to do so. It seems 

 almost incredible that such considerations should not 



1 Referring to repetitions of Spallanzani's experiments made in conceit 

 with Prof. Oehl, Prof. Cantoni says (Gaz. Med. Ital. Lombard, t. i. 

 1868) : ' E in fatto, preparando diversi palloni, egualmente scaldati a 

 1 00, con sugo di carne a vario grade di diluzione, riconoscemmo che, 

 mentre in alcune s' aveva un pronto e ricco sviluppo di infusorj, in altre 

 esso era tardo e scarso, ed in altre ancora mancava affatto ancor dopo 

 molti giorni dalla preparazione.' And even the strongest solution will 

 yield similarly varying results, when exposed to successively lower atmo- 

 spheric temperatures. 



