74 Appendix. 



ON SPONTANEOUS GENERATION. 



EXTRACTS FROM, AND SUMMARY OF, A PAPER READ BEFORE THE ASSOCIA- 

 TION, 



BY E. C. SEAMAN. 



Prof. Dunster, in his paper on the History of Spontaneous 

 Generation, read before the Association March 4th, gave an 

 account of many changes of opinion among learned men and 

 scientists upon the subject ; and stated many facts and thories, 

 and referred to numerous experiments, made by persons investi- 

 gating such questions both in Europe and America ; all of 

 which was and is valuable as well as interesting, to inquir- 

 ers into such questions. But I must be allowed to ex- 

 press my dissent from the deductions and conclus- 

 ions of the Professor. He informs us that the 

 French Academy, some years since, referred the question 

 of spontaneous generation, and numerous experiments of M. 

 Pouchet in support of it, and of M. Pasteur against it, to a com- 

 mittee, which, after a long and careful examination, reported, 

 that the experiments apparently proving the truth of the theory 

 were not made with due care and proper precautions, and there- 

 fore were not reliable ; and that those of M. Pasteur tending to 

 disprove it, were reliable ; and Prof. Dunster insists that the 

 committee virtually settled the matter, as a scientific question ; 

 and that it should now be considered as settled by science and 

 scientists, against the theory. 



During a period of more than 2,000 years, from the time of 

 Aristotle to sometime in the i8th century, the doctrine of spon- 

 taneous generation was generally received in Europe as a truth, 

 beyond all dispute. During the last hundred and fifty years vari- 

 ous theories have been conceived and presented, to account for 

 the origin of the lower orders of animal and vegetable organ- 

 isms ; and so far from the question being settled by scientific in- 



