i873-] Atmospheric Life Germs. 233 



on the Jura, five only contained any ; and lastly, of the 

 twenty filled at Montanvert, while a strong wind blew 

 from the deepest gorges of the Glacier de Bois, one only was 

 altered. The method of opening the flasks was to hold 

 them above the head, with the point turned from the wind, 

 and by a pair of iron forceps, which had just been heated in 

 a spirit-lamp flame, the point was broken. The drawn- 

 out point had been previously scratched with a file and 

 heated ; otherwise particles of dust adhering to the glass 

 would have been carried into the liquid by the in-rush 

 of air. 



A remarkable and interesting fact connected with these 

 experiments was, that on one occasion Pasteur opened his 

 flasks, and, on account of not being able to see the flame 

 of his lamp against the brilliancy of the snow, it was impos- 

 sible to re-seal them ; the flasks were necessarily carried back 

 to the little inn at Montanvert to be closed up. Everyone 

 of these flasks contained organisms after keeping for a short 

 time. On the glacier then, there are no germs in the atmo- 

 sphere, but at the neighbouring inn the air warms with life, 

 and life from all parts of the world, brought by the travellers. 

 On opening the flasks they were held above the head, so as 

 to prevent the possibility of germs attached to the person 

 being deposited in them. 



Explanation of the Cause of Failure of the Experiments in which 

 Mercury is used. 



Flasks containing liquids which had been kept for a great 

 length of time were connected with an air-pump and a red- 

 hot platinum tube : after repeated exhaustion and re-filling 

 with heated air, the communication was made between the 

 flask and the platinum tube, and a globule of mercury taken 

 out of a mercury trough in the laboratory, which had pre- 

 viously been introduced into the connecting-tube of india- 

 rubber, was made to roll into the flask ; on re-sealing and 

 keeping for a few days, fermentation ensued in every case, 

 just as certainly as when the asbestos plugs and the adher- 

 ing germs were sown in similar liquids. This case leaves 

 no doubt regarding the cause of failure of experiments 

 in which the liquid comes in contact with mercury by 

 the flasks being broken under the surface of the quick- 

 silver. 



There are other facts which Pasteur established, of great 

 interest and importance in connection with the nutrition of 

 ferments, mucors and vibriones. Instead of experimenting 

 on milk, urine, or solutions containing the liquor from yeast, 



vol. in. (n.s.) 2 H 



