194 Natural Salvation. 



produced by several orders of putrefactive bacteria which, 

 as life advances, find lodgment all along the alimentary 

 tract, becoming " naturalized " there in immense numbers. 



Professor Metchnikoff sees reason to hope that these 

 invasions of putrefactive bacteria may be combatted by 

 ingestion of the hefir microbe, found in specially soured 

 milk, and himself makes use of it. He also believes that 

 the cells of all the tissues may be " reinforced " by sub- 

 stances of the natuie of serums, obtained by the now 

 familiar methods of inoculation of the horse and other 

 animals. 



As a result of all his studies and discoveries, Professor 

 Metchnikoff announces his belief that the present " span 

 of human life " may be prolonged by from sixty to eighty 

 years ; that the healthy working period of middle age may 

 extend considerably past a century, thus placing himself 

 in harmony with Buffon, who believed that the natural 

 lifetime of man was not less than one hundred and twenty 

 years. Professor Metchnikoff's idea of human longevity is 

 similar, his view being that although diseases and improper 

 modes of living now hold human life down to seventy or 

 eighty years, these evils and bad conditions may be so far 

 ameliorated, that old age will come three score years later. 



We do not understand Professor Metchnikoff to teach 

 that greatly prolonged life, looking to immortal life, can 

 be attained by applied science. His position is, that " old 

 age " may be deferred, not remedied; that it is in the end 



