Fermentations by Organisms 811 



ceal germs which are still active. I then had recourse to matrasses, 

 balloons, tubes, which I tapered in a flame, after having placed the 

 experimental substances within; the almost capillary hole of the 

 part tapered out permitted an equilibrium of pressure to be 

 established. 



I next perceived, at my cost, that the germs which remained in 

 a dry state on the walls of the little receiver were sufficient, espe- 

 cially when we were dealing with putrefaction, with which my dis- 

 section laboratory was crammed, to affect the phenomena. I could 

 guard against these with certainty only by adding a little water 

 and shaking the receiver carefully, before subjecting it to com- 

 pression, so as to kill at the same time both the germs contained 

 in the substance and those on the walls which were wet. 



It must not be thought, however, I make haste to say, that this 

 method of preservation has a practical value; meat which has been 

 compressed has an insipid taste which makes it disagreeable. This 

 taste is probably due in part to the acid developed in it during 

 the compression, an acid which is not volatile, nor odoriferous, and 

 which is probably lactic acid. 



This meat, which does not decay, absorbs infinitely less oxygen 

 than that which remains under normal conditions. That was studied 

 particularly in Experiments CCCLXXXVI and CCCLXXXVII. 



But the most remarkable example is furnished by Experiment 

 CCCXCI, in which in 20 days meat placed under a compression of 

 oxygen equivalent to 44 atmospheres of air consumed no oxygen 

 and produced no carbonic acid; whereas a similar weight of the 

 same meat left at normal pressure had consumed 3.5 liters of oxy- 

 gen and formed 3 liters of carbonic acid. 



If pressure is lowered to normal, and sufficient precautions are 

 taken to keep out the dust of the air, the meat, which will be pre- 

 served without decay indefinitely, as we have just said, will con- 

 sume only very small quantities of oxygen. The following ex- 

 periment shows this clearly. 



Experiment CCCCVII. February 20. 15 pieces of meat, each 

 weighing 1 gm., are placed in 15 tubes. Then these tubes are drawn 

 out in a flame and subjected to 15 superoxygenated atmospheres in 

 the iron apparatus. 



March 3. Decompression is made carefully and the 15 tubes are 

 closed by the flame. The analysis of 3 of them, made immediately, 

 gives 70 to 80% of oxygen. 



March 13. One of the tubes is broken under mercury; meat amber 

 in color, no odor, acid reaction. There is 6.2% of carbonic acid and 

 77.8% of oxygen. 



