148 THE FLOATING-MATTER OF THE AIR. 



■was soon to be further disturbed by experiments with 

 closed chambers. On the 6th of October, 1876, for ex- 

 ample, an infusion was got ready in strict imitation of 

 that prepared on the 3rd ; it was of the same specific 

 gravity, it was alkaline to the same degree, and it was 

 introduced in the same manner into a chamber of three 

 tubes ; but whereas the infusion of the 3rd remained 

 intact for months, and would have remained so indefi- 

 nitely, a week had not elapsed before every tube of this 

 new infusion was turbid and covered with fatty scum. 



§ 6. Desiccation of Germs. New Hay and old. 



In his work entitled * Evolution, and the Origin of 

 Life,' Dr. Bastian affirms, with repeated emphasis, that 

 living matter is unable to maintain its life when exposed 

 to a temperatui'e even below that of boiling water. He 

 refers to the scalding of the hand and other destructive 

 effects, and also to the action of boiling water on eggs. 

 He also refers to the experiments of Spallanzani on 

 seeds, and extends the results observed with living 

 matter of these special kinds, to living matter generally. 

 ' It has been shown,' he writes,^ ' and is believed by the 

 great majority of biologists, that the briefest exposure 

 to the influence of boiling water (212° F.) is destructive 

 of all living matter.' 



More than ten years ago an extremely significant 

 observation directly bearing upon this subject was made 

 by the wool-staplers of Elboeuf, in France. They were 

 accustomed to receive dirty fleeces from Brazil, and 

 among other matters entangled in the wool were the 

 seeds of a certain plant called Medicago. It had been 

 repeatedly found by the wool-cleaners that these seeds 

 sometimes germinated after a period of four hours' 

 « ' Evolution,' p. 46. 



