Spontaneous Génération. — J\fM. Joly and Ch. 

 Musset, who hâve hitherto sidecl with M. Pouchet in his 

 endeavours to prove that the lower kinds of organism 

 may be produced without the intervention of any 

 ancestor, hâve just made a new communication on the 

 subject to the Academy of Sciences, in support of this 

 view. Their observations hâve this time been directed 

 to hen's eggs in a state of spontaneous décomposition. 

 A pellicle, solely composed of the granules of the yollc, 

 was f ormed in the first instance after the lapse of twelve 

 hours. This was succeeded by a living population, con- 

 sisting of Monas capusculum and Bacterium ternio, 

 which were seen traversing the slides of the microscope 

 in aU directions. This population increased for some 

 days to an incredible extent ; ifc then died off, and its 

 remains, after lying heaped up for some time, were at 

 last covered with a membrane dotted with little spherical 

 grains or spontaneous eggs, according to M. Pouchet, 

 which in their turn produced the Kolpoda Gucullus, 

 which, after remaining for some time imprisoned on ail 

 sides by the membrane, at length began to rotate slowly 

 like the embryos of certain mollusks, and then, extri- 

 cating themselves from the mass in which they had been 

 generated, fairly appeared under their characteristic 

 forms and with their usual motions. The proliférons 

 pellicle which covered the surface of the liquid being 

 duly removed, the mass of yolky grains under experi- 

 ment was gradually exhausted, the same phenomena 

 being each time visible. Hence MM. Joly and Ch. 

 Musset are of opinion that it is thèse grains which are 

 transformed without any extraneous agency into 

 Monades and Bacteria, and subsequently into Kolpoda. 

 Milk, calves' liver, pounded linseed, potato fecula, and 

 yeast, mixed with pure distilled water, hâve produced 

 similar efFects. 



