1872.] 



Evolution of Life from Lifeless Matter. 



149 



allowed to stand for some hours, when a portion was siphoned off, placed 

 in tubes completely exhausted with a Sprengel pump, and sealed up. The 

 tubes were heated to 120° C. for three hours. The tube marked T, and 

 called the " test-tube " in these and all the following experiments, was 

 treated in just the same way as the others, and heated at the same time to 

 ascertain whether a high temperature had any prejudicial effect on the de- 

 velopment of life. 



No. 1. Opened July 14th, 1871. Kept nine months and one week. 

 Vacuum perfect. Liquid perfectly clear ; flavour and smell like that of 

 fresh infusion. No change had taken place. 



No. 2. Opened July lath, 1871. Kept nine months and eight days. 

 Vacuum perfect. Liquid quite fresh in smell and flavour, and clear in 

 appearance. Quite unchanged. 



No. 3. Opened August 4th, 1871. Kept over ten months and two weeks. 

 Vacuum perfect. Liquid perfectly fresh in smell and flavour, clear in 

 appearance. Quite unchanged. 



No. 4, T. Opened October 12th. On 19th, in a space of seven days, the 

 liquid had become turbid. On October 31st it was crowded with white 

 matter, and had a very offensive smell. The microscope showed masses of 

 Torula-ceUs. The magnifying-power used was 400 diameters. 



The original solution, which had been kept covered by an inverted 

 beaker over the mouth of the flask, was turbid six days after its prepara- 

 tion. As turbidity was noticed in the solution, which had been sealed in 

 vacuo and heated to 120° C, in less than seven days (the tube being 

 opened at night and examined in the morning) after exposure to the air, w r e 

 see that heating had no interference with the experiment. 



E. October 12th, 1870. Sodium phosphate and ammonic tartrate. So- 

 lution containing 3 to 4 per cent, of the mixed salts. Completely exhausted 

 with a Sprengel pump. Heated three hours to 130° C. 



No. 1. Examined August 24th, 1871. Kept ten months and two weeks. 

 Vacuum perfect. Many drops of liquid free from any thing. Quite unal- 

 tered. Contained nothing noticeable. 



No. 2. Air expelled by boiling. Vacuum good. Opened July 19th, 1871. 

 Kept nine months. Remarkably little solid matter seen : no organism met 

 with. 



No. 3, T. Opened October 18th, 1870. Exposed to the air twenty days. 

 Not examined till November 7th. Five masses the size of peas were seen 

 floating on the liquid ; they proved to consist of mucor, with fructification. 



F. October 18th, 1870. Urine boiled and filtered from mucus. Each 

 tube exhausted with the Sprengel. Heated to 130° C. for three hours. 

 After heating, what is believed to be a trace of phosphate of lime sepa- 

 rated. 



No. 1. In February 1871 the liquid was perfectly clear and seemingly 

 unaltered; when next examined the point of the tube was found to have 

 been broken and the liquid had been lost. Kept about fourteen weeks. 



