( 186 ) 



holes of tlie wooden cross now connteracted the n})\vard pressure 

 of the mercury. Goeppekt worked even with tlie bulb of a hyacinth ! 



It has been remarked above that in France it was exactly the unsup- 

 ported condition of the seeds which drew attention because it seemed 

 to plead for "vital force". Dutkochet had commenced the great fight 

 against this latter and consequently he was prompt to stave off the 

 danger. He repeated Pinot's experiments and obtained a negative result. 

 Thereupon, on Nov. 16, 1829, he made the following communication 

 to the Académie des sciences, of which he was a corresponding 

 member. ^) "Par les journaux et particulièrement par les Annales 

 d'expériences presentees a 1' Académie" ') he had learnt that the roots 

 of plants would penetrate into mercury to a greater depth than 

 corresponded to their weight, consequently by a physiological action. 

 He had repeated these experiments carefully but had by no means 

 obtained the result of the author. The root never went deeper than 

 it ought to by its weight and when after a few chiys it turned black 

 and died, it did not come to the surface either. The author must 

 be entirely mistaken; there was nothing that could be ascribed to 

 physiological or vital action. 



In this meeting of the Académie Mirbel communicated that the 

 committee of enquiry had also repeated the experiments, but had 

 obtained the same result as Dutrocuet ^). This statement is contrary 

 to what PiNOT had said of the connuittee in his letter to the Académie 

 of July 27, 1829. The committee has given no written report ■*). 



Dutrochet evidently was no unprejudiced observer when he 

 repeated Pinot's experiments. They were troublesome to the new 

 conceptions of which he was a champion. 



A considerable part of Dutrochet's observations on various subjects 



1) Revue Bibliographique. Dec. 18"2*J, pag. i4G— 147. 



~) A periodical of this name is not known to nie. Only in 1835 the Académie 

 began to publish a printed account of its meetings viz. the : Gompies Rendus 

 hcbdomadaires des seances de rAcademie des Sciences. Of its transactions, entitled: 

 "Mémoires de 1' Académie des Sciences de l'Institut de Franco", the new series was 

 commenced as early as 1818, but nol all the Mémoires that came in, are found 

 in it. It contains an account of the proceedings of the Académie of some years ; 

 vol. XI 1832, has the account of 1828, vol. XVI 1838, that of 1830 and 1831, 

 but exactly an account of 1829 is wanting in the intermediate volumes. Yet one 

 reads in the "Analyse des travaux de l'Académie pendant Tannée 1831" in Tome 

 XVI 1838, page GGI: "Dans Tanalyse des travaux de 1829, on a déja doimé une 

 description...", from wliich would follow that the account for 1829 had been 

 published. 



s) Revue Bibl. Dec. 1829 p. 147. 



^) Gomtes rendus T. XX 1845 p. 1258. 



