NATURE 



265 



THURSDAY, JULY 21, i{ 



TECHNICAL MYCOLOGY. 

 The Utilisation of Micro-organisms in the Arts and 

 Manufactures : a Practical Handbook on Ferment- 

 ation and Fermentative Processes^ Sr^c. By Dr. Franz 

 Lafar, V'ienna. With an introduction by Dr. Emil Chr. 

 Hansen, Copenhagen. Translated by Charles T. A. 

 Salter. In two volumes : Vol. i. Schizomycetic 

 Fermentation. With plate, and 90 figures in the 

 text. Pp. xviii + 405. (London : Charles Griffin and 

 Co., Ltd., 1898.) 



BEFORE Pasteur published his great work on " Fer- 

 ^ mentation," most people would have scouted the 



idea that bacteria could ever play any very important 

 part in technical and trade affairs. But when this work 

 appeared it became evident that, as shown in the de- 

 scription of the processes concerned in brewing and 

 vinegar-making, a new era had been inaugurated. Still it 

 was scarcely, even at that time, anticipated that bacteria 

 would come to play their present important part in the 

 arts. Although it is impossible at first sight to appreciate 

 the immense strides that are now being made, it is 

 manifest when one comes to look over such a volume 

 as that under review, that technical mycology has 

 materially aided, and sometimes in a measure even 

 superseded, much of the work of the chemical laboratory. 

 In the case of chemical work, results are merely re- 

 cognised and set forth, but, from bacteriological work, 

 explanation of the chemical changes are afforded. It is 

 interesting to notice what a successful attempt has here 

 been made to amalgamate the scientific with the prac- 

 tical. Hitherto the scientific part of bacteriology has 

 been looked upon as science pure and simple, except in 

 its relation to the production of disease, and to such con- 

 ditions as putrefaction and fermentation. Now, however, 

 that the scientific investigator and the practical worker are 

 co-operating, it is evident that the import of bacterial pro- 

 cesses is greater than could hitherto have been imagined. 

 It has certainly been one of the greatest gains of bacterio- 

 logy that the study of the physiology of fermentation and 

 other technical processes should have been undertaken 

 by Pasteur and Hansen. Under their leadership there 

 have been brought together a number of eager workers 

 who have from time to time made valuable con- 

 tributions to our knowledge of mycology. Most of 

 such work, however, is to be found only in technical 

 or scientific journals, with the result that the techno- 

 logist has not always had the benefit of the opinion 

 of the scientific expert, whilst on the other hand the 

 scientific expert has too frequently worked unavail- 

 angly along lines which at the time appeared to lead 

 to no practical result. In the work before us, and in 

 one or two others, especially those that have come from 

 the Danish laboratories, we have a series of text-books, 

 jf one may so speak of them, in which both kinds of in- 

 vestigations have been carefully sifted, analysed, col- 

 lected, and accessibly arranged. It has too long been 

 the case that in certain of the technical laboratories 

 founded specially for the purpose of bringing bacterio- 

 logical science to bear on technical work, the scientific 

 NO. 1499, VOL. 58] 



worker has been kept too closely to analyses and to work 

 having direct relations to technical processes, with the 

 result that in many cases his work has been dwarfed, and 

 he has had little time to devote to original investigation 

 of any kind. 



Hansen, in the preface to the work before us, puts the 

 matter pithily and forcibly in the following words : — 



" It is true that an intimate connection with practical 

 conditions sets fresh tasks before the investigator, and 

 exerts on the whole a sufficiently stimulating influence ; 

 but on the other hand, the same circumstance gives rise 

 to the danger of diverging into by-paths, and neglecting 

 the strict scientific conditions of investigation. Since 

 these Stations and Laboratories are, as a rule, maintained 

 by a circle of practical men for whom they work, the 

 investigators appointed thereto are often subject to re- 

 grettable pressure. Even though, otherwise, a certain 

 amount of freedom is allowed them in these institutions, 

 they labour under the great difficulty of being obliged — 

 whilst engaged in the task of scientific investigation — to 

 be ready at any moment to give assistance— coupled with 

 analyses and any wished-for disclosures — to the parties 

 interested. Still further difficulties arise when practical 

 men foolishly intermeddle in scientific investigations, and 

 especially when results that shall be immediately avail- 

 able for practical utilisation are impatiently demanded — 

 results which, however, are only attainable by scientific 

 investigation, and cannot be forced on at pleasure. . . . 

 The result of these vexed relations between Scientists 

 and practical men has been to call into existence a quasi- 

 scientific literature by which neither Science nor Practice 

 is benefited — a result which every one who has the 

 healthy development of this subject at heart must greatly 

 deplore and endeavour to improve according to his 

 ability. These conditions are, however, in existence, and 

 we must take them into account." 



Such being the state of affairs, we welcome most 

 heartily a work which- deals in a thoroughly scientific 

 spirit with technical bacteriology, and in the first volume 

 of Dr. Lafar's book we have the part fulfilment of the 

 promise of an exceedingly useful work. Dr. Lafar has 

 given a scientific basis of bacteriology, offering classi- 

 fications and methods of working which can now be styled 

 classical. But in addition he has drawn up a kind of 

 parallel between the micro-organisms of disease and the 

 micro-organisms that play a part in various technical 

 processes ; the whole forming a thoroughly good found- 

 ation on which to build up the more technical part which 

 follows. This following part includes a systematic de- 

 scription and classification according to their power of 

 doing work in special technical processes of various 

 groups of micro-organisms. After dealing briefly with 

 the question of spontaneous generation, the author goes 

 on to speak of the various theories of fermentation, and 

 closes the introductory part of the work with a short 

 account of the special organisms that are associated with 

 this process. He then, in the first division of the main 

 body of the book, devotes a section to the schizomycetic 

 fermentations and to the general morphology and physio- 

 logy of schizomycetes. This is followed by a section on 

 the general biology and classification of bacteria : in this 

 latter section the behaviour of bacteria under the in- 

 fluence of physical agencies is specially dealt with, 

 and mention made of their relation to one another 

 in the various symbiotic, metabiotic, and antagonistic 

 conditions. The account of the various classifications 

 of the bacteria, commencing with that drawn up by O. F. 



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