64 PASTEUR 



ing a double proof, first, that pure air has no 

 effect upon liquids subject to putrefaction, and, 

 secondly, that it was the germs and spores 

 heavier than the air which had been deposited 

 in the curved neck that gave birth to the in- 

 fusoria popularly attributed to spontaneous 

 generation. 



On the other side, Pouchet declared that the 

 air, being everywhere the same, had the power, 

 no matter where it was gathered, of causing 

 the creation of vibrions, through its action upon 

 liquids subject to putrefaction; while Pasteur 

 continued to maintain that germs and spores 

 were unequally distributed in the atmosphere, 

 and that, if the air was taken from the moun- 

 tain tops, it was impossible that it should dis- 

 turb the liquids brought into contact with it, 

 since there would be a complete absence of 

 germs and spores. The experiments which Pas- 

 teur made, as simple as they are conclusive, to 

 demonstrate the truth of his conception, have 

 remained historic. It was through the aid of 

 globes with a straight neck finely drawn out 



