462 SCIENCE PROGRESS 



flaw in the work and methods of experiment of those who sought to prove finally 

 whether in fact Dr. Bastian was right or wrong. 



Several most interesting letters followed in the Lancet, but only a few from 

 persons who had themselves done any experimental work on the subject, on the 

 same lines as those of Dr. Bastian. Two of these had confirmed some of 

 Dr. Bastian's experiments— namely, Albert Mary, of Paris, and Dr. O. C. Gruner, 

 of Leeds — the latter only in regard to Dr. Bastian's work on heterogenesis— an 

 allied subject. 



Two other observers — namely, Dr. Sydney G. Paine and the Hon. H. Onslow — 

 declared that their experiments clearly indicated that in Dr. Bastian's experiments 

 there was no evolution of life from inorganic materials, and they refer the readers 

 of the Lancet to their published reports of their own experiments, wherein they 

 explain their reasons for thinking that Dr. Bastian's facts, and the necessary con- 

 clusions arising therefrom, were erroneous. 



There, it would seem, the matter has been allowed to rest, though it would 

 appear desirable to institute some further experiments on the exact lines as 

 described in Dr. Bastian's book, The Origin of Life (Watts & Co., 2nd edition, 

 1913, price y- &d.). 



It has always been urged by Dr. Bastian's opponents in this controversy that 

 his experiments are invalidated for the following reasons : 



Some critics — mostly not biologists, and presumably not thoroughly acquainted 

 with bacteria and toruke, have supposed that what were taken from Dr. Bastian's 

 tubes were mere pseudo- organisms such as Leduc, Herrera, Jules Felix, the 

 brothers Mary, and in this country Prof. Benjamin Moore, F.R.S., and Dr. 

 Sydney G. Paine are able to produce from various saline solutions — bodies which 

 undoubtedly simulate organic forms with great exactness. Others, as, for instance, 

 Prof. Hewlett and Dr. Jonathan Wright, of New York, have expressed themselves 

 as quite satisfied that the bodies found and photographed have been real organisms, 

 but cannot believe that they have really been engendered within the tubes ; nor 

 can they believe that they are alive. They presume that they must have been 

 introduced in some way during the sterilising process — which, of course, is quite 

 possible, if not probable. But these organisms would have been killed by the 

 sterilising process, and could not, therefore, go on reproducing themselves as they 

 have been found to do in Bastian's experiments— nor would they have been found 

 in such enormous numbers as was often the case. In this connection see Dr. 

 Jonathan Wright's letter in the Lancet of August 2, 1919, and Prof. Hewlett's 

 Introduction to Dr. Bastian's paper in Nature of January 22, 1914, p. 579- 



The Fiftieth Year of Sir Ray Lankester's Editorship of the "ttuartsrly 

 Journal of Microscopical Science " (J. B. G.) 



The 253rd number of the Quarterly Journal of Microscopical Science marks the 

 fiftieth year of Sir Ray Lankester's editorship. During this period the Quarterly 

 Journal has included among its pages many important memoirs, written by authors 

 not only of this country, but from abroad. Sir Ray Lankester himself has led the 

 van as a writer of very valuable papers, which have stimulated biological research 

 in several important branches. Without noticing the not unprominent part which 

 Oxford zoologists have taken in contributing to the high standard of this valuable 

 periodical, one will observe that Sir Ray Lankester has succeeded in attracting 

 contributors from every University in the country. 



Those younger men who have had the privilege of publishing their first papers 



