GERMS AND DUST. 



29 



and demonstrating the smoke resulting from the 

 destruction of all, any one with the aid of a microscope 

 in less time, with less trouble, without complicated 

 apparatus, might have quickly demonstrated, and with 

 the greatest precision identified the various kinds- of 

 organic particles present in that particular specimen of 

 dust, and he could have shown the particles them- 

 selves instead of the smoke which resulted from their 

 combustion and destruction. In short, the method of 

 burning dust proves only what can be proved quite as 

 positively by much simpler means, and proves abso- 

 lutely nothing regarding the existence of disease or 

 other germs in the air a subject which has been suc- 

 cessfully studied during the last ten years or more by 

 other methods of inquiry. It is difficult to imagine 

 anything further removed from fact than the state- 

 ment that the dust of our air consists of disease 

 germs. No one would dare to make such an assertion 

 in plain words. It would be nonsense. And yet 

 remarks have been made which have undoubtedly 

 led the public to infer that such a conclusion was 

 implied, or that it was desired that such an inference 

 should be drawn. It is, however, still more astonish- 

 ing that writers in some of our leading journals should 

 be so misled as to give, without comment, an inter- 

 pretation of an author's views which amounts to 

 absurdity. Thus the "Academy" (April Qth, 1870, 

 p. 185), in referring to Dr. Tyndall's lecture on Dust 

 and Disease remarks, " The floating dust-like matter 



