THE BEGINNINGS OF LIFE. 



445 



Experiment c. An infusion of beef with some mus- 

 cular fibres, prepared at the same time, similarly ex- 

 posed, and also opened after nine weeks, was not found 

 to contain any living things, though there was an 

 abundance of mere moving granules. Some of the 

 muscular fibres had preserved their natural appearance, 

 whilst others had lost it, and had become completely 

 granular. 



Experiment d. An infusion of cod-fish muscle, simi- 

 larly prepared and exposed, also proved quite sterile. 



Experiment e. A solution containing ten grains of 

 potash and ammonia alum, three grains of tartar emetic, 

 and half a grain of new cheese to an ounce of distilled 

 water. 



The vacuum having been ascertained to be still 

 partly preserved, this flask was opened at the end of 

 the seventh week. The fluid was odourless, and its 

 reaction neutral. There was a considerable quantity 

 of dirty-looking deposit, and some oily matter on 

 the surface, though the fluid itself was tolerably 

 clear. The deposit was, for the most part, com- 

 posed of dark granules, together with mucoid flakes 

 also containing granules. Mixed with the moving gra- 

 nules were a considerable number of 'Bacteria partly 

 of the ordinary shape, and partly of the monilated 

 variety the movements of which were tolerably ex- 

 tensive. They travelled over small areas, and danced 

 around one another, in a manner quite different from 

 the mere granules with which they were intermixed. 



