Fermentations by Organisms 809 



reaction; but they have kept their form, and the muscular striae are 

 easily seen through the microscope. A, on the contrary, is a mass 

 of horrible decay, and the striae cannot be recognized. 



Experiment CCCCV. May 28. Meat in pieces, in 2 matrasses 

 drawn out in a flame and open at the extremity. 



A. Left in open air. 



B. Placed at 8 superoxygenated atmospheres. 



Since the apparatus has a leak, compression is made several times, 

 up to 23 superoxygenated atmospheres; for several days the pressure 

 remains at 15 atmospheres. 



June 26. A has been horribly decayed for a long time. 



B. Has no odor; is amber colored. 



June 28. I present the matrass B to the Academy of Sciences; I 

 open it in the meeting; the meat is negative and has only a slight sour- 

 ish odor, not disagreeable. 



I recork the matrass without special care, with a hollowed out 

 cork, and take it to the laboratory. 



July 3. No odor. 



July 11. Very slight odor. 



July 19. The meat is covered with mold, but does not have an 

 odor of decay. 



Experiment CCCCV I. November 29. Barometric pressure 758 mm.; 

 temperature 14°. From the top of three bells pieces of meat are hung, 

 each weighing 25 gm. A solution of potash at the bottom of each bell 

 will absorb the carbonic acid as it is produced. 



The cork of the bell allows passage of an elbow tube, the extrem- 

 ity of which, being immersed in mercury, will serve as a manometer. 



Bell A (4.6 liters) contains normal air. 



Bell B (1.9 liters) contains air with 45.5% of oxygen. 



Bell C (1.5 liters) contains air with 91.7% of oxygen. 



December 4. The bells are opened and the air analyzed; the b'aro- 

 metric pressure is 735 mm.; temperature 14°. The meat in bell C 

 does not smell as bad as the others. 



The absorption of C0 2 has caused a drop of 2.7 cm. in bell A, 

 one of 10 cm. in B, and 10 cm. in C. There is no carbonic acid in any 

 of the bells. 



The air in A now contains only 17.2% of oxygen; that in B only 

 35.3%; that in C still contains 91.5%. 



Simple calculations, in which account is taken of the barometric 

 pressure and the difference in tension in the bells, show that: 



A, which had at its disposal 961 cc. of oxygen, consumed 258 cc. of it 



B, which had at its disposal 867 cc. of oxygen, consumed 284 cc. of it 



C, which had at its disposal 1376 cc. of oxygen, consumed 183 cc. of it 



If we consider first those of our experiments which dealt with 

 decreased pressure, we see clearly that in rarefied air putrefaction 

 was considerably delayed and oxidation diminished. 



In Experiment CCCXCII, whereas a certain weight of muscles 

 had, in a certain time, at normal pressure consumed 524 cc. of 



