CHAPTER III 



THE OUTSTANDING BIOLOGICAL ADVANCES- 

 CONTINUED 



AFTER such high praise of the theory of organic 

 evolution, what can remain to be said of the advance 

 resulting from the biological work of Pasteur, Koch 

 and Lister? 



The theory of Organic Evolution is philosophical 

 and wide-reaching, but the results of the study of 

 micro-organisms, with which Pasteur and others were 

 concerned, had more immediate practical applica- 

 tions. 



The science of bacteriology embraces several 

 general questions such as, the germ-theory of disease, 

 the nature of fermentation, of inflammations, the 

 spontaneous origin of life, immunity, etc. In this 

 group of topics certain animal and plant organisms 

 are so intertwined as to their aspects and effects that 

 it is artificial to attempt to draw a sharp line sep- 

 arating the bacteria from all other organisms. When 

 strictly limited, bacteriology should be confined to 

 bacteria, which are minute plants, but, as the experi- 

 mental study of these micro-organisms advanced, it 



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