l8 ANIMALCULA OF INFUSIONS. I. 



minute animalcula were produced from beans, 

 vetches, buck-wheat, mallows, maize, and len- 

 tils. Whatever attention was bellowed on the 

 other three infufions, I could never difcern the 

 leaft indication of animation. 



From this feries of experiments I concluded, 

 that the heat of boiling water half a minute was 

 fatal to large, middle fized, and hnall animalcu- 

 la, which, to adopt the energetic expreffion of 

 my illullrious friend M. Bonnet, I fliall term ani- 

 malcula of the higher claf; ; while the fame heat, 

 protraded two minutes, did not affeft the infi- 

 nitely minute animalcula, which I fhall term the 

 lower clafs. Here two problems occurred : Whe- 

 ther the continuance of boiling longer than two 

 minutes would prevent the origin of the lov/er 

 clafs ; or, if diminifhing the boiling lefs than half 

 a minute, would admit the exiftence of the high- 

 er clafs. As no two problems could be more 

 important, I endeavoured to folve them in the 

 following manner. 



1 began with the firft ; and, ufmg the method 

 already obferved, kept vefl'els with fix kinds of 

 feeds, producing the lower clafs of animalcula, in 

 boiling water, fome two minutes and a half, three 

 minutes, three and a half, and four minutes. 



The hermetical feal of twenty four velfels was 

 broken at a proper time ; though the higher clafs 

 of animalcula was wanting, it was not fo with 



the 



