rii^ 



I 



438 



THE BEGINNINGS OF LIFE. 



to ascertain what amount of evidence was obtain- 

 able as to the possibility of living matter being pro- 

 duced de novoy from changes taking place, in the main, 

 amongst inorganic or mineral elements, I made during 

 the present and the past year many experiments, some 

 of which I will now detail. With the exception of Prof. 

 Mantegazza's one experiment, and of one by Prof. 

 Wyman, all the flasks in my experiments have been 

 raised to temperatures higher than any which had pre- 

 viously been resorted to. 



In those which have been productive, the hermetically 

 closed flasks have been exposed to temperatures ranging 

 from 27o°-3o7°F (i33°-i53°C), though in other un- 

 productive experiments the flasks have been heated to 

 327° F and 464° F. As on other occasions, the solu- 

 tions were heated in vacuo^ so that the experiments 

 oio^ A\(^e^ypA in thk rpsnect from those of Mantesazza, 



Wy 



and Cantoni, who adhered to the method 



Needham 



of Prof. Frankland's assistance, though subsequently he 

 kindly placed his digester at my disposal 1. 

 The mode of preparation of the flasks ai 

 ment employed for heating them were tJ 

 by Prof. Frankland : 



1 Of the Experiments now about to be recorded, those in which the 

 flasks were heated under Dr. Frankland's superintendence are Nos. g, 

 bj, k, s, u, w, and^, whilst those which were executed alone by me m 

 University College are Nos. a, h, c, d, e, f, I, m, n, 0, p, q, r, i, v, x, 



and z. 



inch 





:1 

 f 



tube, 



Abel's me 



.irodiicea a 



whic 

 rcuria 



tol 





the liqui'^J 

 lliag the last 

 jithe boihng 

 ,, the tube \ 



The tubes were 

 |ster, described 



for 1 854, p 



■•liiical iron 



v: 



can be secur 



•t of the 



cover 



I 



^^y down the 



In some of my earlier experiments, I had the benefit i^^ ^^ bottom 



) 



^1 inch lone 

 '^^ show ' 



S 1 



mtr 



towered 



M, 



bein 

 the 



g n 

 tul 



\ 



^ heat 



le 



:i 



tem 



M 



Pcrat 



u 



Was 



ma 



