Fuly 31, 1873] 
, in charge of Mr. Marvin, accompanied by Mr. Gardner, 
ad another under Mr. Gannett, accompanied by Dr. Peale, as 
ngist, and Mr, Batty as naturalist. According to the Denver 
, the cattle, finding these constructions extremely con- 
enient places for scratching, and thinking them apparently 
rected for their accommodation, have at once commenced 
opriating them to that purpose, and evidently with great 
faction, as it is said that they concentrate in their vicinity for 
es around, 
_ ‘© ANNALEN des Physikalischen Centralobservatoriums ” is the 
nan title of the record for 1871 of the work done at the 
eat Paysical Observatory of St. Petersburg. It isavery thick 
rto in Russian and German, and contains full and well- 
rranged me’eorological statistics for fifty-five Russian towns for 
he year 1871. 
THe following are the principal additions to the Brighton 
Aquarium during the past week :—1o0 Thornback Rays (Raia 
lai ata), 1 Large Tope (Galeus canis), 1 Large Smooth Hound 
clus culgaris) 3 Thee-bzarded Rockling (Motella tricirrata), 
000 Sticklebacks (Gasterosteus spinosus), 1 fine group of Ac- 
finoloba dianthus (orange variety) ; a Smooth Hound (AZustelus 
vulgaris) gave birth to seven young ones, which died imme- 
ly, or were born dead. 
_ THE additions to the Zoological Society’s Gardens during the 
ast week include two Maugé’s Dasyures (Dasyurus maugei) 
from Australia, presented by Mr. George Heath; a Tytlers 
Paradoxure (Paradoxurus tytleri) from the Andaman Islands, 
presented by Mr. J. S. Campbell ; a Bactrian Camel (Camelus 
bactrianus ) from Asia; a Gibbon (/y/obsates sp. ?) ; a Crowned 
gle (Spizaétus coronatus) from Senegal; three Blue crowned 
hanging Parrakeets (Loricul/us galoulus) {rora Malacca; an 
Egyptian Fox (Canis niloticus) ; an Egyptian Vulture (Meophron 
cnopteros), purchased; an Ocelot (Felis pardalis) from 
America ; a Hobby (AyJotriorchis subbuteo) from this country, 
and four red-billed Tree Ducks (Dendrocygna autumnalis) from 
America, deposited. 
ON THE TEMPERATURE AT WHICH BAC- 
TERIA, VIBRIONES, AND THEIR SUPPOSED 
GERMS ARE KILLED* 
HILST a heat of 140° F. (60° C.) appears to be destruc- 
tive to Bacteria, Vibriones, and theic supposed germs in 
neutral saline solution, a heat of 149° or of 158° F. is often 
mecessary to prevent the occurrence of putrefaction in the inocu- 
ed fluids when specimens of organic infusions are employed. 
What is the reason of this difference? Is it owing to the fact 
hat living organisms are enabled to withstand the destructive in- 
fluence of heat better in such fluids than when immersed in neu- 
tral saline solutions? At first sight it might seem that this was 
he conclusion to be drawn. We must not, however, rest satis- 
fied with mere superficial considerations. 
The problem is an interesting one; yet it should be clearly 
inderstood that its solution, whatever it may be, cannot in the 
east affect the validity of the conclusion arrived at in my last 
paper, viz., that living matter is certainly capable of arising de 
yovo. We were enabled to arrive at the conclusion above men- 
ioned regarding Archebiosis by starting with the undoubted 
fact that a heat of 158° F. reduces to a state of potential death 
all the Bacteria, Vibriones, and their supposed germs which an 
organic infusion may contain. The inquiry upon which I now 
propos= to enter, therefore, touching the degree of heat delow 
this point which may suffice to ki'l such organisms and their sup- 
posed germs in an organic infusion, and touching the cause of the 
delayed putrefaction apt to take place in inoculated organic intu- 
sions which have been heated to temperatures above 140° and 
below 158° F., is one lying altogether outside the chain of fact 
and inference by which the occurrence of Archebicsis is proved. 
_* Extrects from a paper by Dr. H. Charlton Bastian, F.R.S., read before 
Royal Society May 1, 1873. 
NATURE 
273 
It seems to me that the solution of the problems which form 
the subject of the present communication can only be safely 
attempted by keeping constantly before our minds two main con- 
siderations :— 
Thus, in the experiments whose results it is now our object 
to endeavour to explain, the fluids have been inoculated with a 
compound consisting partly (a) of living units, and partly (4) of 
a drop of a solution of organic matter in a state of molecular 
change; so that in many cases where putrefaction has been 
initiated after the inoculating compound has been heated to cer- 
tain temperatures, there is the possibility that this process of 
putrefaction may have been induced (in spite of the death of the 
organisms and their germs) owing to the influence of 4, the dis- 
solved organic matter of the inoculating compound ; that is to 
say, the heat to which the mixture has been exposed may have 
been adequate to kill all the living units entering into the inocu- 
lating compound, although it may not have been sufficient to 
prevent its not-living organic matter acting as a ferment upon the 
infusion. 
And there are, I think, the very best reasons for concluding 
that in all the cases in which turbidity has occurred after the 
organic mixtures have been subjected to a heat of 140° F. (60° 
C.) and upwards, this turbidity has been due, not to the survival 
of the living units, but rather to the fact that the mere dead or- 
ganic matter of the inoculating compound has acted upon the 
more unstable organic infusions in a way which it was not able to 
do upon the boiled saline fluids. 
The reasons upon which these conclusions are based are the 
following :— 
I. Because the turbidity which has occurred in inoculated 
organic infusions that have been subjected to a temperature of 
140° F, has always manifested itself appreciably later, and ad- 
vanced much more slowly than in similar mixtures which had 
not been heated above 131° F. ; whilst it has commenced even 
later, and progressed still more slowly, when occurring in mix- 
tures previously heated to 149° F. Such facts miglit be 
accounted for by the supposition that exposure in these organic 
fluids to the slightly higher temperature suffices to retard the 
rate of growth and multiplication of the living units of the 
inoculating compound, although the facts are equally explicable 
upon the supposition that the later and less energetic putre- 
factions are due to the sole influence of the mere organic matter 
of the inoculating compound. 
2. So far as the evidence embodied in the Tables goes, it 
tends to show that the more unstable different specimens of 
similar infusions are (that is, the stronger they are), the more 
rapidly and frequently does late turbidity ensue, and the more 
this late turbidity approaches, both in time of onset and in rate 
of increase, to that which occurs when inoculated infusions are 
not heated to more than 131° F.—when both living and non- 
living elements of the inoculating compound act conjointly as 
ferments. Such facts show quite clearly that where the in- 
trinsic or predisposing causes of change are strong, there less 
potent exciting agencies are more readily capable of coming 
into play ; but they still do not enable us to decide whether the 
exciting cause of this delayed turbidity is in part the living 
element whose vitality and rate of reproduction has been 
lowered by the heat, or whether the effects are wholly attri- 
butable to the mere organic matter of the inoculating com- 
ound, 
F So far, therefore, we have concomitant variations which are 
equally compatible with either hypothesis. But it wili be 
found that each of the three succeeding arguments speaks more 
and more plainly against the possible influence of the living 
element, and in favour of the action of the organic matter of the 
inoculating compound, as an efficient exciting cause of the 
delayed putrefactions occurring in the cases in question. 
3. As stated in my last communication,* when single drops of 
slightly turbid infusions of hay or turnip previousy heated to 
140° F, are mounted and securely cemented as microscopical 
specimens, no increase of turbidity takes place, although drops 
of similar infusions heated only to 122° F. do notably increase 
in turbidity (owing to the multiplication of Bacteria) when 
mounted in a similar manner. Undersuch restrictive conditions 
as these, in fact, a drop of an inoculated and previously heated 
organic infusion behaves in precisely the same manner as a drop 
of a similarly treated ammonic-tartrate soluticn. In each case, 
when heated to 140° F., turbidity does. not occur, apparently 
because there are no living units to multiply, and because in 
* See NATURE, vol vii. p. 435. 
