FKhMKNTA TJON. 



fortuitous ferments of disease. These ferments, which, it 

 is to be remembered, are living organisms, have 

 activity suspended by temperatures below 10 degre- 

 and is long as they are reduced to torj>or the beer remains 

 atftinted either by aaidifcy or j bion. Th 



low fermentation is brewed in winter, and kept in cool 

 cellars; the brewer being thus enabled t<> dispose of it at 

 his leisure, instead of forcing its consumption to avoid the 

 loss involved in its alteration if kept too long. Hops, it 

 may be remarked, art to some extent as an antiseptic to 

 beer. The essential oil of the lion is bactericidal: hence 

 the strong impregnation with hop juice of all beer intended 

 for exportation. 



se low organisms, which one might be dispos 

 regard as the beginnings of life, were we not warned that 

 the microscope, precious and perfect as it is, has no power 

 to show us the real beginnings of life, are by no m -an- 1 

 purely useless or purely mischievous in the economy of 

 nature. They are only noxious when out of their proper 

 place. They exercise a useful and valuable function as the 

 burners and consumers of dead matter, animal and vege- 

 table, reducing such matter, with a rapidity oth- 

 unattainable, to innocent carbonic acid and water, l-'ur- 

 thermore. they are not all alike, and it is only restricted 

 classes of them that are really dangerous to "man. One 

 dilTeivnre iii their habits is worthy of special ref. 

 here. Air, or rather the oxygen of the air. which is 

 absolutely necessary to the support of the bacteria of 

 pii t refaction, is, according to I'asteur. absolutely deadly to 

 the vibrios which provoke the butyric acid fermentation. 

 Tin- has been illustrated by the following beautiful obser- 

 vation. 



A drop of the liquid containing those small organisms is 



placed upon glass, and on the drop is placed a circle of 



exceedingly thin glass; for, to magnify them Fuiliciently, 



it is necessary that the object-glass of the microscope 



should come very close to tl L'onnd the edge 



of the circular plate of glass the liquid HIM eontart with 



r. and incessantly a beorta it. including the oxygen. 



Here, if the drop tx d with baetena, we have a zone 



i v lively ones. Hut through this living /one, greedy 



of oxygen and appropriate ng gas cannot 



M cniter of the film. In : ihere- 



