492 
EDITORIAL. 
The  Production  of  Organisms  in  closed  vessels. — As  appears  from  an  abstract 
in  the  Reader  of  May  20,  a  paper  by  George  Child,  M.D.,  in  continuation 
of  a  former  communication,  was  read  before  the  Royal  Society,  April  27. 
Dr.  Child's  experiments  were  similar  to  the  earlier  ones  of  Prof.  Wyman, 
and  reach  the  same  results,  viz.,  that  Bacterians  are  produced  "  exactly 
under  the  circumstances  in  which  M.  Pasteur  asserts  that  they  do  not 
exist."  And  he  accounts  for  the  discrepancy  thus:  "  M.  Pasteur,  in  his 
memoir,  speaks  of  examining  his  substances  with  a  power  of  350  diameters. 
Now  my  experience  throughout  has  been,  that  it  is  impossible  to  recognize 
these  minute  objects,  with  any  degree  of  certainty,  even  with  double  that 
magnifying  power.  When  once  their  existence  on  a  slide  is  shown  with  a 
power  of  1500  to  1700  diameters,  it  is  quite  possible  afterward  to  recognize 
the  same  object  with  a  power  of  750/'  &c.  He  continues:  "I  can  now 
have  no  doubt  of  the  fact  that '  bacterians' can  be  produced  in  hermetically 
sealed  vessels,  containing  an  infusion  of  organic  matter,  whether  animal 
or  vegetable,  though  supplied  only  with  air  passed  through  a  red-hot  tube, 
with  all  necessary  precautions  for  ensuring  the  thorough  heating  of  every 
portion  of  it,  and  though  the  infusion  itself  be  thoroughly  boiled.  .  .  .  44  It 
seems  clear  that  either  (1)  the  germs  of  Bacterium  are  capable  of  resisting 
the  boiling  temperature  in  a  fluid,  or  (2)  that  they  are  spontaneously  gene- 
rated, or  (3)  that  they  are  not  'organisms'  at  all.  I  was  myself  somewhat 
inclined  to  the  latter  belief  concerning  them  at  one  time;  but  some  re- 
searches in  which  I  am  now  engaged  have  gone  far  to  convince  me  that 
they  are  really  minute  vegetable  forms.  The  choice,  therefore,  seems  to 
remain  between  the  other  two  conclusions.  Upon  these  I  will  not  venture 
a  positive  opinion,  but  remark  only,  that  if  it  be  true  that  '  germs'  can  re- 
sist the  boiling  temperature  in  fluid,  then  both  parties  in  the  controversy 
are  working  upon  a  false  principle,  and  neither  M.  Pouchet  nor  M.  Pas- 
teur is  likely  at  present  to  solve  the  problem  of  spontaneous  generation." 
The  decided  conclusion  as  to  the  organic  character  of  these  Bacteriums 
was  reached  through  an  examination  of  them  by  the  ^  object-glass  re- 
cently constructed  by  Messrs.  Powell  and  Lealand. — Amer.Jour.  of  Science 
and  Arts,  July,  1865. 
CUitorial  Department. 
Meeting  of  the  American  Pharmaceutical  Association. — In  order  to 
give  a  full  account  of  the  proceedings  of  the  late  meeting  at  Boston,  we 
have  printed  an  additional  form.  Through  the  courtesy  of  Prof.  Maisch, 
the  permanent  Secretary,  we  have  been  able  to  extend  greatly  our  own 
notes  by  an  inspection  of  the  stenographic  report  of  the  proceedings.  It 
has  become  a  sort  of  law  that  scientific  papers  read  at  the  Association 
shall  only  reach  the  journals  through  the  official  proceedings,  and  hence 
