270 A few Remarks on Dr. Bastian’s [Months Microscopical 
was submitted to a temperature of 153° C. for four hours.” “The 
plant was completely disorganized; not a single spore could be 
jound.” “No fungus spore has been known to germinate after 
the fluid containing it has been raised to a temperature of 100° C. 
for a few seconds.” PP. 221:—“ The starting-point of each alike, 
z.e. the spores and filaments in the crystal, was a mere speck of 
living matter ;” (p. 222) “so extremely minute that” it “only 
just” comes “within the range of our aided vision.” P. 223 :— 
“That such invisible germs may have existed in the form of col- 
loidal molecules (germs in posse but not in esse) I am quite disposed 
to believe ;” and, p. 221, “that the spores and filaments (found in 
the crystal) are the developed representatives of certain specks of 
living matter, and that these livmg specks have been evolved by 
virtue of certain changes and re-arrangements which have taken 
place among the non-living constituents of the crystalline matter.” 
P, 223 :—“T have taken spores and filaments from a crystal, and 
one-half I have boiled for about a minute, whilst the others have not 
been heated at all. The spores which had been boiled did not ger- 
minate, but those which had not been heated soon began to develop 
filaments. These unmistakable fungus filaments showed dissepi- 
ments at intervals, dividing them into chambers, within which were 
contained large irregular blocks of protoplasm. Occasionally a fila- 
ment larger than the others might be seen, terminating with a 
broad convex extremity, and afterwards there gradually appeared 
on the surface of this the minutest dot-like projections, which slowly 
increased in size and number. The larger of them soon became 
vesicular, and after a time within the vesicle granules began to 
cluster so as to constitute a nucleus. I was thus able to trace all 
the stages of development on one and the same plant, from mere 
granular abortive-looking Leptothrix threads, only sya" in dia- 
meter, which gradually grew into a distinct confervoid-looking tube, 
having broken masses of protoplasm within, into slowly-widening 
and dissepimented fungus filaments that were capable of producing 
a head of fructification of the Penicillium type.” 
A few remarks on these quotations may suggest that although 
not a single spore could be fownd, “many germs of lower organisms 
are far too minute and too transparent to be seen by the aid of the 
highest magnifying powers at our command.” * 
In M. M. J., Jan., 1870, Art. V., pp. 25, 26, I have referred 
to the early existence of monads as pin podnts, or “ minute dots only 
visible by reflected light. Spontaneous movement evident (not cur- 
rents) ;” and Dr. Bastian speaks of them as invisible germs. 
Dr. Hughes Bennett says,t “The molecules out of which ani- 
malcules and fungi are produced are not derived from the air, 
neither can they be supposed to pre-exist in the fluid, as then they 
* See Beale, ‘ Protoplasm,’ p. 72. t ‘Pop. Sci. Rev.,’ p. 62, Jan., 1869. 
