348 



hermetically sealed in flaslis after all air had been expelled 

 by boiling. These conditions Avould seem to preclude all 

 chance of the subsequent appearance of life in the flasks ; 

 yet in only three out of twenty cases did this fail to take 

 place ; it is this Avhicli is so astonishing. If success is 

 apparently almost inevitable, why have previous observers 

 failed ? Why tliey should do so, in fact, it is hardly possible 

 to explain, dismissing the inadmissible supposition of bad 

 faith, if Dr. Bastian's methods are free from flaw. Dr. Bastian 

 has felt this difficulty, and suggests that in Pasteur's experi- 

 ments the severity of " the restrictive conditions " produced 

 the negative results; but this explanation, as will be seen 

 afterwards, hardly proves very satisfactory. Professor Huxley 

 has in fact remarked, that " it is probable there must be 

 some error in these experiments, since others similar to them 

 are performed on an enormous scale in the preservation of 

 various kinds of food in tin cases, and with a totally different 

 result." ^ And this suggests what may prove to be a source 

 of error. The tin cases are finally sealed Avhile standing in 

 a bath of calcium chloride. Steam issues from a minute 

 hole in the cover, driving before it all the enclosed air ; 

 when this has completely taken place, the whole is closed 

 by first dropping from a sponge a drop of Avater upon it, 

 which momentarily condensing the steam, is then instantly 

 followed by a plug of molten solder.- Dr. Bastian, how- 

 ever, moderated the boiling of his flasks by turning doAvn 

 the lamp-flame at the time of scaling;'^ so that there would 

 seem to be just the possibility of an indraught of air having 

 taken place. 



Of the first sixteen experiments, in eight infusions of 

 organic matter were used, and in the other eight saline 

 solutions. Only one of the first set and two of the last gave 

 negative results, in all the rest living things of a rather 

 vari(?d kind were found when the flasks were opened, after 

 the lapse of periods varying from five to sixty-one days, but 

 on the average of twenty. The saline substances were all 

 selected to contain carbon, hydrogen, oxygen, and nitrogen, 

 but were of course on any point of view farther removed 

 than the organic substances employed from the composi- 

 tion of living matter. Notwithstanding this, however, the 

 remarkable result was obtained, that the most evolved 

 organisms were produced by the solutions of the saline, and 



■^ "Address to British Associalion.' 



* The whole method is described by Dr. Wynter in 'Olu- Social Bees,' 

 p. 19i. 



^ Loc. cit , p. 17C. 



