26 TRANSACTIONS LIVERPOOL BIOLOGICAL SOCIETY. 



very important part played, both for good and evil, by 

 those unseen organisms of extraordinary power, bacteria. 

 One of the most important biological discoveries of our 

 age was that made by Schwann in the year of Her 

 Majesty's accession, that fermentation was due to the 

 activity of yeast cells, and from it, though a quarter 

 of a century later, Pasteur proved that certain diseases 

 were due to the action of ferments in the living being. 

 Meanwhile, it had often been observed that mortality in 

 hospitals from compound fractures was very great, while 

 single fractures were easily cured, and this led to Lister's 

 notable discovery (in 1865) of the antiseptic treatment, 

 by which wounds were protected from the entry of 

 -microbes, which are well-known to exist in our atmo- 

 sphere in prodigious numbers, and to increase with 

 extraordinary rapidity. The application of Lister's theory 

 to surgery enabled surgeons to safely perform operations 

 never before dreamt of, and also acted as a powerful 

 stimulus to the investigation of the nature of the micro- 

 organisms concerned with disease. The result has been 

 the discovery that many diseases have each their special 

 microbe — a discovery necessarily of the greatest value in 

 diagnosis. But this branch of this evening's subject is so 

 vast, and was so eloquently though too modestly handled 

 by Lord Lister [Plate IV.] himself, in his memorable 

 address as President of the British Association, at last 

 year's meeting in our own city, that I need only refer to 

 the address for a complete resume of the subject. 



It is remarkable how small facts, and even fictions often 

 lead up to great results, and in this case they follow one 

 another as surely as the rhymes in " The House that 

 Jack Built." We have seen how spontaneous generation 

 led to the discovery of fermentation, and this to the 

 antiseptic treatment. This, again, led up to the germ 





