3i6 THE BEGINNINGS OF LIFE. 



Left to itself, the whole surface-layer of milk in a 

 short time becomes densely interwoven with Fungus- 

 filaments; and multitudes of the conidia which they 

 are continually throwing off are sown amongst them. 

 Soon a white mildew may be seen even with the naked 

 eye sprouting up from all points of the surface, and 

 after a time it becomes covered with a perfect forest of 

 Venicilllum glaucum ^ . 



It seems probable, moreover, that somewhat similar 

 changes may occasionally take place within the mam- 

 mary ducts themselves when, owing to some diseased 

 condition of the gland, the milk is long retained. A 

 specimen of milk was sent to M. Turpin by M. Las- 

 saigne which had been taken from a cow whose mammas 

 were somewhat inflamed and engorged; and this was 

 found to contain a very large amount of fungus- 

 mycelium. It is said: — "^Ce lait sortait des mamelons 

 ou trayons sous la forme de petits flocons d'une beau 

 blanc et d'un aspect entierement cotonneux.' And, on 

 microscopical examination, these flakes proved to be 



of forty-eight hours, nearly one half of the fatty-looking mass had 

 actually undergone segmentation into Fungus-germs, many of which had 

 in their turn grown out into well developed filaments. 



^ In view of the observations just detailed, it becomes a most signifi- 

 cant fact that precisely the same kind of fungus is apt to spring up on 

 all sorts of organic matter when it begins to undergo processes of decay. 

 As Turpin says, one may now conceive that ' independemmant des 

 moyens reproducteurs secondaires, tels que ceux de la seminale et de la 

 bouture, le Penicillium glaucAim peut se montrer avec une etonnante 

 profusion partout ou se recontrent les globules producteurs de la matiere 

 organiques,' 



