LINNEAN SOCIETY OF LOXDOX. 33 



" A hood dipping into quicksilver answers excellently. 

 Yet mere filtration is inadequate. 



" I am now certain that this much talked of spontaneous 

 generation is largely a delusion and that if the phenomenon 

 ever does take place it is only exhibited under extremely 



unusual conditions and in most extraordinary cases " 



(pp. 27-28.) 



viii. Cultivation from a dijihtlieritic throat. 



'' I have placed some of the matter containing certain of 

 what I have found to be the minute beinos causing the 

 putrid sore throat in the common calves foot jelly so familiar 

 to all of 3^ou and covered this with a bell jar standing in 

 (juicksilver ; jelly, jar and metal all being strongly heated — 

 thus, as you can readily understand, completely excluding- 

 au}^ other germs. In three days, these particular germs had 

 amazingly multiplied as rounded jointed grains in wavy 

 clusters, and each little portion of the jelly when placed in 

 ]Meces of fresh jelly was capable of plentifully propagating 

 them in the new material wdiich, in turn, produced them in 

 others — and so on. 



" I was curious to see how they would adapt themselves 

 to human blood : to avoid the red color I let some venous 

 stand quietly, having skimmed off some crust ; and drew 

 away the greenish yellow watery serum from the cruor and 

 heated it for some hours to 140° of Fahrenheit which I have 

 found sufficient to destroy germ life. In this the beings 

 appeared in only thirty hours I and were larger, fibrous and 

 moist. Other children in the same house with the boy from 

 whose throat I obtained the matter, yielded none of the 

 peculiar germs referred to — until some acquired the same 

 disease, these then exhibited the noxious organisms in his 

 or her greyish throat matter.'' (pp. 28-29.) 



ix. Contagion. 



'• Reflection on this [the statements in the two paragraphs 

 last quoted], leads us to consider how many diseases may be 

 introduced, transmitted or conveyed by the contact of flesh, 

 perspiration or saliva and how cautious, how prudent and 

 how circumspect we should ever be in governing the inter- 

 course of ourselves and of our children with other persons or 

 creatures, no matter whether the latter appear to he clean 

 and healthy or not * " (pp. 29-30.) 



* Continues •with "If tlie system is in proper condition", on p. 34. 



LIN?f. SOC. PROCEEDINGS. — SESSION 1912-1913. d 



