FERMENTS, FERMENTATIONS, AND LIFE. 555 



all its surface, the epithelium, decays in places, particularly in the 

 moister parts. The agents of disorganization, vibrios and bacteria, 

 or rather the germs of these thread-like corpuscles, penetrate through 

 the skin, wind into the small ducts, invade the whole blood, and by 

 degrees all the organs. Soon they swarm everywhere, almost as nu- 

 merous as the chemical molecules in the midst of which they stir and 

 circle. The albuminoid matters are decomposed into fetid gases, es- 

 caping into the air. The fixed salts, alkaline and earthy-alkaline, 

 slowly release themselves from the organic matters with which they 

 combined to form the tissues. The fats oxidize, and grow acrid; the 

 moisture dries away. Every thing volatile vanishes, and, at the end of 

 a certain time, nothing remains save the skeleton, but a formless min- 

 gling of mineral principles, a sort of humus, ready to manure the earth. 

 Now, all these complex operations absolutely required the intervention 

 of the infusoria of putrefaction. In pure air, deprived of living germs, 

 they could not have been accomplished. To check putrid fermenta- 

 tions, to insure the conservation of animal or vegetable substances in 

 a state of perfect integrity, only one means avails, but that is an in- 

 fallible one — that of thoroughly precluding the access to them of the 

 aerial germs of vibrios and bacteria. Whether we adopt D'Appert's 

 method and begin by subjecting these substances to the action of high 

 temperature, preserving them after that in hermetically-closed vessels; 

 or whether, as we have seen very lately practised by M. Boussingault, 

 we introduce them into an extremely cold medium ; or whether we sat- 

 urate them with such salts as have antiseptic properties, in every case 

 they are protected from putrefaction by paralyzing the effect of the 

 lower organisms. The corruption of animals is not more possible than 

 the fermentation of grape-juice, barley-wort, milk, etc., when it is made 

 impossible for the germs to act. This is another fact demonstrated by 

 M. Pasteur. 



"We have just used the term antiseptic, that is, capable of destroy- 

 ing germs, and preventing the action of ferments. The interest con- 

 nected with such substances is easily understood. In truth, they are at 

 the present time the chief objective point of therapeutic researches. 

 At the same time that chemists and physiologists are engaged with 

 persevering zeal in studying the functions of microscopic corpuscles in 

 living Nature, physicians, perceiving their manifold and baneful activ- 

 ity in the production of disease, are seeking the means of reaching and 

 destroying them. Every one knows those principles, like phenic acid, 

 which are extracted from pitch, and are also found in smoke, to which 

 they impart antiseptic properties that have been utilized from time im- 

 memorial. Other substances liave been lately discovered, not less re- 

 markable for their energetic resistance to fermentation and virus. 

 Among the number are the alkaline sulphites and hyposulphites, which 

 have been the object of very interesting examination on the part of 

 an Italian physician, M. Polli ; the borates and silicates of j^otassa and 



