
IMPORTANT NEW EXPERIMENTS 149 
_ 2nd Hypotheses. The fertilsing agent may act 
by reviving germs hitherto presumed to have been 
killed in the botled acted urine. The acceptance of 
this hypothesis would involve a general recantation 
of the previously received conclusion that Bacteria 
and their germs are killed by boiling them in acid 
urine, as well as in other acid fluids, such as 
Pasteur’s sweetened yeast water, which remain 
barren after boiling. But no such recantation of 
opinion would be justifiable except it could be based 
upon good, direct, and independent evidence. 
The possibility, however, of accepting this second 
hypothesis seems still further closed by the results 
of experiments in which a slight excess of liquor 
potassze was added to the boiled urine. Such fluids 
invariably remained barren. Yet it can be easily 
shown that the mere development and growth of 
Bacteria germs may take place both quickly and 
freely in boiled urine containing a very large excess 
of liquor potassze.' Thus, it would seem that this 
agent, mixed with boiled urine, in quantity slightly 
more than is needed for neutralisation, prevents the 
generation of living matter therein, although, even 
when in considerable excess, the same agent affords 
no obstacle to the development, growth, and multi- 
plication of germs purposely added thereto—the 
mixture, in fact, proves a good “ nourishing ” liquid. 
1 Thus, if one ounce of urine may be neutralised by ten minims 
of liquor potassze, we may add szvty minims of this fluid to one ounce 
of the same boiled urine; we may pour it into a corked phial which 
has been washed with tap-water, so as to contaminate it, and within 
forty-eight hours the fluid will swarm with Bacteria if it is kept at a 
temperature of 122° F. 
