AN AUTOBIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH. 277 



nection of my line of thought with that of the mathe- 

 maticians of the last century, was the only one who 

 took an interest in my attempt, and protected me 

 from being misconceived. On the other hand, I met 

 with enthusiastic applause and practical help from 

 my younger friends, and especially from E. Du Bois 

 Reymond. These, then, soon brought over to my side 

 the members of the recently formed Physical Society 

 of Berlin. About Joule's researches on the same sub- 

 ject I knew at that time but little, and nothing at all 

 of those of Eobert Mayer. 



Connected with this were a few smaller experi- 

 mental researches on putrefaction and fermentation, in 

 which I was able to furnish a proof, in opposition to 

 Liebig's contention, that both were by no means purely 

 chemical decompositions, spontaneously occurring, or 

 brought about by the aid of the atmospheric oxygen ; 

 that alcoholic fermentation more especially was bound 

 up with the presence of yeast spores which are only 

 formed by reproduction. There was, further, my 

 work on metabolism in muscular action, which after- 

 wards was connected with that on the development of 

 heat in muscular action ; these being processes which 

 were to be expected from the law of the conservation 

 of force. 



These researches were sufficient to direct upon me 

 the attention of Johannes Miiller as well as of the 



