196 ANIMALCULA OF INFHSIONS. I, 



curious diflertation, for fuch undoubtedly is the 

 immenfe letter you have taken the trouble tot- 

 writCj and for which accept a thoufand and a 

 thoufand acknowledgements, k has been per- 

 ufed with the pen in my handy and a correded 

 extradb made, that nothing eflential might efcape, 

 and that I might be the better enabled to comply 

 with your requeft. It is only difeharging my 

 heavy debt to your friendfliip. 



I. Your diflribution of infufions into clalTes, 

 diftinguilhed by the time of ebullition, has been 

 moft judicious* By excellent experiments, we are 

 now afTured that two hours boiling does not pre- 

 vent the production of animalcula ; we have even 

 reafon to admit that the population of infuiions 

 is generally proportioned to the duration of ebul- 

 lition, and the longer it is continued, the more do 

 :animalcula encreafe ( i ). Here then is enough to 



pulverife 



(i) The meaning of my propofltion is: although the 

 leaft boiled infufions had originally few animalcula, com- 

 pared with thofe that had boiled more, in time they had 

 immenfe numbers. This greater abundance is naturally 

 explicable by the increafing difFoIution of the infufed feeds, 

 becaufe dilToLution is a condition moft necefTary for the po- 

 pulation of infufions. M. Bonnet fuppofes that the addi- 

 tional animalcula may arife from more of them, or 

 |heir germs, falling into the infufions. I have fliewn that 

 jt is as little prdbable that animalcula fall from the air, as 



it 



