﻿68 
  

  

  Anniversary 
  Meeting. 
  

  

  [Nov. 
  30, 
  

  

  The 
  instruments 
  have 
  been 
  now 
  for 
  the 
  most 
  part 
  brought 
  back 
  and 
  

   placed 
  in 
  our 
  Instrument-Eoom, 
  and 
  will, 
  I 
  hope, 
  at 
  no 
  distant 
  period 
  

   be 
  accessible 
  to 
  the 
  Fellows. 
  

  

  On 
  the 
  motion 
  of 
  General 
  Smythe, 
  seconded 
  by 
  Mr. 
  Francis 
  G-alton, 
  

   it 
  was 
  resolved 
  — 
  " 
  That 
  the 
  thanks 
  of 
  the 
  Society 
  be 
  returned 
  to 
  the 
  

   President 
  for 
  his 
  Address, 
  and 
  that 
  he 
  be 
  requested 
  to 
  allow 
  it 
  to 
  be 
  

   printed." 
  

  

  I 
  now 
  pass 
  to 
  the 
  presentation 
  of 
  the 
  Medals. 
  

  

  The 
  Copley 
  Medal 
  has 
  been 
  awarded 
  to 
  Prof. 
  Louis 
  Pasteur, 
  one 
  of 
  

   our 
  Foreign 
  Members, 
  "for 
  his 
  researches 
  on 
  Fermentation 
  and 
  on 
  

   Pebrine." 
  

  

  Prof. 
  Pasteur's 
  researches 
  on 
  fermentation 
  consist 
  essentially 
  of 
  two 
  

   parts 
  : 
  — 
  the 
  first 
  part, 
  in 
  which 
  he 
  enters 
  exhaustively 
  into 
  the 
  examina- 
  

   tion 
  of 
  the 
  products 
  formed 
  in 
  this 
  process 
  ; 
  and 
  the 
  second, 
  in 
  which 
  he 
  

   takes 
  up 
  the 
  question 
  of 
  the 
  cause 
  of 
  fermentation. 
  

  

  Previous 
  observers 
  had 
  noticed 
  the 
  production, 
  in 
  solutions 
  of 
  sugar 
  

   which 
  had 
  been 
  fermented, 
  of 
  substances 
  other 
  than 
  the 
  two 
  commonly 
  

   recognized, 
  alcohol 
  and 
  carbonic 
  acid; 
  but 
  it 
  remained 
  for 
  Pasteur 
  to 
  

   show 
  which 
  were 
  essential, 
  and 
  which 
  were 
  occasional 
  products. 
  In 
  the 
  

   series 
  of 
  able 
  papers 
  contributed 
  to 
  the 
  ' 
  Comptes 
  Rendus 
  ' 
  and 
  to 
  the 
  

   ' 
  Annales 
  de 
  Chimie 
  et 
  de 
  Physique,' 
  he 
  proved 
  conclusively 
  that 
  suc- 
  

   cinic 
  acid 
  and 
  glycerine 
  were 
  always 
  found 
  in 
  fermented 
  solutions 
  of 
  

   sugar, 
  while 
  lactic 
  acid 
  and 
  acetic 
  acid, 
  although 
  occasionally 
  present, 
  

   were 
  not 
  always 
  so. 
  He 
  also 
  showed 
  that, 
  in 
  addition 
  to 
  these 
  substances, 
  

   a 
  part 
  of 
  the 
  sugar 
  was 
  converted 
  into 
  cellulose 
  and 
  fat. 
  

  

  The 
  study 
  of 
  the 
  products 
  formed 
  during 
  fermentation 
  opened 
  the 
  way 
  

   to 
  the 
  second 
  part 
  of 
  the 
  research, 
  viz. 
  the 
  cause 
  of 
  fermentation. 
  

  

  It 
  had 
  been 
  found 
  that 
  certain 
  solutions, 
  when 
  exposed 
  to 
  the 
  air, 
  soon 
  

   became 
  full 
  of 
  living 
  organisms; 
  and 
  Pasteur's 
  experiments 
  led 
  him 
  to 
  

   support 
  the 
  view 
  that 
  these 
  organisms 
  originated 
  from 
  the 
  presence 
  of 
  

   germs 
  floating 
  in 
  the 
  air. 
  He 
  found 
  that 
  no 
  living 
  organisms 
  were 
  de- 
  

   veloped 
  if 
  care 
  were 
  taken 
  to 
  destroy 
  completely 
  all 
  those 
  which 
  might 
  be 
  

   present 
  in 
  the 
  solution, 
  and 
  if 
  the 
  solutions 
  were 
  then 
  carefully 
  sealed 
  up 
  

   free 
  from 
  air. 
  Nor 
  was 
  it 
  necessary 
  to 
  exclude 
  the 
  air, 
  provided 
  that 
  pure 
  

   air, 
  free 
  from 
  germs, 
  were 
  admitted. 
  By 
  passing 
  the 
  air 
  through 
  red- 
  

   hot 
  tubes 
  or 
  through 
  gun-cotton 
  before 
  reaching 
  the 
  solutions, 
  he 
  found 
  

   that 
  the 
  development 
  of 
  organisms, 
  in 
  such 
  boiled 
  solutions, 
  did 
  not 
  take 
  

   place. 
  An 
  exception 
  to 
  this 
  was 
  noticed 
  in 
  the 
  case 
  of 
  milk, 
  which 
  required 
  

   to 
  be 
  heated 
  to 
  a 
  higher 
  temperature 
  than 
  the 
  boiling-point 
  of 
  water 
  at 
  

   atmospheric 
  pressure. 
  Pasteur 
  showed 
  that 
  this 
  was 
  connected 
  with 
  the 
  

   alkaline 
  reaction 
  of 
  milk, 
  for 
  in 
  all 
  cases 
  in 
  which 
  the 
  development 
  of 
  

   life 
  was 
  prevented 
  by 
  heating 
  to 
  the 
  boiling-point 
  of 
  water, 
  the 
  solutions 
  

  

  