Z//-^. 



THE BEGINNINGS OF LIFE. 



29 



ng Or m' " ~" 



one ^^^^'' '^^^^ seems to be no laborious process of synthesis 



"""^ ^nothepl 



'Pear. 



'^ ^^^^^ into J 

 ' ^^^^ basis of I 

 process moch 



intsinfullgro^i. 



Jiydrogenfiomtb 

 ■^€; air. . . . The.< 

 :ts of 



II no long chain of substitution compounds — before the 

 final product is evolved. 



But the property of decomposing ammonia and of 

 feeding upon elementary mineral substances is by no 

 means confined to the higher plants. The same power 

 is possessed by Conferva vulgaris and other low algae, 

 as was demonstrated by M. Bineau nearly twenty years 



whilst nearly ten years afterwards it was ascer- 



ago 



experimeiH^ 

 ►t at a red heat fe: 

 lie matter withiiii; 



fungi. 



by M. Pasteur 



the Mucedine^ 



were capable of growing and 

 multiplying in a solution of sugar and tartrate of 



de seeds sown ~af ^^^^^^S ^*^ which a trace of some phosphate had been 



[Terminate wereren. added. 



Referring 



to Pasteur's observations. Baron 



and watered rf Liebig says : — f- It is astonishing that this discovery has 



I through all the p 



not - attracted more attention in 



regard to a special 



ripe seeds. Danii| 



1 they must derive; point, for it comprises a fact of very great significance 



ibsorb by their roft 

 _aves.' CChemid 



r 



^ His experiments were made with Conferva vulgaris and Hydrodictyon 

 pentagonale. M. Bineau says : — ' Des quantites jugees a I'oeil egales 



^ ^ ■ , pentagonale. M. Bmeau says: — 'Des quantites jugees a Iceil egales 

 umas an ^ ^^^1-^^ ^jj^^ ^^ chacune des deux especes d'AIgues mentionnees furent 



absorbed * 



enfermces dans des flacons a I'dmeri bien bouches dun peu plus d un 



d*ammoniaque, ajoutee k Tetat de chlorhydrate et una quantite un peu 



cn IS 



into the plan ' demi-litre, avec 250 centimetres cubes d'eau, contenant 12 millioniemes 

 :r taken up by* 



quantity of ^^^ moindre dazotate de chaux. Les flacons furent ensuite exposes, les uns 

 ^..Q is a qii^^^^_^" sur ime fenetre ou ils recevaient les rayons du soleil les autres dans 

 probabilities po^ ' le voisinage, mais dans Tobscurite. . . . Apres dix jours, le liquide de 



itrogen 



1 



broug 



chaque flacon fut filtre et soumis a un essai ammoniametrique, ... On 

 ]^t about ^'''. a trouve que V Hydrodictyon avait fait disparaitre au soleil presque les 



of the aq 



ueous '^ trois quarts de Tammoniaque, et le Conferva vtdgaris pres de la moitie. 



V^"" 1 1' con^'^^''^' ^ I'obscurite I'absorption de Tammoniaque fut environ moitie moindre. 



^ ilarp'' • . ■ Dans aucun des liquides des flacons il ne resta la moindre trace 



uence 



ofs^^-,,f 



mo 





jes«' appreciable d'azote.' (' Mem. de I'Acad. des Sciences de Lyon,' t. iii. 



T853-) 



