102 THE DEATH-POINT OF BACTERIA 
clusion above mentioned 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 propose to enter, there- 
fore, touching the degree of heat below this point 
which may suffice to kill such organisms and their 
supposed germs in an organic infusion, and touch- 
ing the cause of the delayed putrefaction apt to 
take place in inoculated organic infusions 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 Archebiosis is proved. 
It seems to me that the solution of the problems 
which form the subject of the present communica- 
tion can only be safely attempted by keeping 
constantly before our minds two main considera- 
tions :— 
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 
