372 SCIENCE PROGRESS 



investigation, but it is not out of place to record the fact that 

 brewing in its turn has contributed not a little to the progress 

 of science. As a practical art, it is concerned with the physio- 

 logical processes of germination in seeds, the complexities of 

 the chemistry of carbohydrates and of protein compounds, the 

 action of micro-organisms and enzymes, to mention only a few 

 of the fields of investigation which the process of brewing 

 opens out to the scientific worker. Should we seek an 

 example of the successful utilisation of these opportunities, the 

 most conspicuous will be found in the work of Louis Pasteur, 

 whose researches into the history of micro-organisms have 

 given him a standing no less eminent than that won by Darwin 

 in the field of evolution. Whereas Darwin's work altered 

 completely the orthodox attitude of mind throughout the 

 domain of science, that of Pasteur created a new world and gave 

 to mankind direct benefits in the shape of exact knowledge 

 concerning the cause and prevention of infectious diseases and 

 the value of aseptic surgery. It should not be forgotten, 

 moreover, that Pasteur's investigations had their origin in a 

 study of the phenomena of brewing. At the end of the war of 

 1870 he began to study the science of brewing, with the object 

 of assisting the development of a national industry, and thus 

 furnishing to his native land a means of recovery from the 

 effects of a national disaster. The outcome of his studies was 

 his well-known work, Etudes stir la Biere, in which he set 

 forth his great theories of fermentation, afterwards elaborated 

 until they formed the magnificent structure which constitutes 

 his title to fame. Too often this origin of Pasteur's work 

 is forgotten, being obscured by his later work in the region 

 of pathology. A regrettable consequence has been that the true 

 science of bacteriology is now to some extent displaced in favour 

 of a special branch, and the department of pathological bacterio- 

 logy usurps the attention of many workers, who fail to recognise 

 the importance of a continued and deeper study of micro- 

 organisms in general, whether pathogenetic or beneficial. 

 While it may be conceded that the immediate and visible 

 results of the specialised study which now prevails are far- 

 reaching and valuable in their scope, yet it must be urged that 

 these results are gained at the cost of progress in other branches, 

 no less important, although less striking to the public mind. 

 A premature concentration upon one aspect of a subject not 



