
THERMAL DEATH-POINTS 59 
phere, which contained, as he was well aware, a 
large amount of what those who differed from him 
regarded as not-living ferment (mere organic matter), 
while Zosszb/y there existed living Bacteria or their 
germs—for at this date none such had ever been 
definitely discovered in the atmosphere. In ex- 
plaining the results of his experiments, however, M. 
Pasteur thought he was pursuing a logical and 
scientific method when he attributed the fertilising 
results obtained to the action of the possibly existing 
elements (Bacteria) in the inoculating compound ; 
while he ignored altogether the other element (mere 
organic matter) which was certainly present in com- 
paratively large quantities. 
As a very able writer said in an article on “ The 
Germ Theory and Spontaneous Generation,” in the 
Contemporary Review for April 1877 :—“Once 
assume as a Starting-point |the truth] of the germ 
theory, and the ascertainment of the death-point of 
bacterium germs is the simplest thing in the world. 
If life appears in the fluid inoculated with them, 
say at once that it is due to the germs, and that the 
heat was not enough to kill them. If, on the other 
hand, the fluid remains barren after the germs have 
been introduced, it follows that the heat was fatal. 
For the purpose of testing the validity of the germ- 
theory, it is obvious that no such fetzetzo principit 
can be for a moment admitted; and yet, oddly 
enough, it was only by this deliciously zazve reason- 
ing that Pasteur supported his view of the vital 
resistance of bacterial germs. He found that one 
or two acid fluids with which he worked would not 
