of our race (and who can doubt that in some measure it must be so?), we are bound by motives of interest and duty to secure for all classes of the people that kind of education which will lead to the development of the highest and most varied mental power. And no one who has been observant of the recent progress of the useful arts and its influence upon the moral, social, and political condition of our population, can doubt that such education must include instruction in the phenomena of external nature, including, more especially, the laws and conditions of life and health; and that it ought to be, at the same time, such as will adapt the mind to the ready acquisition and just comprehension of varied knowledge. It is obvious, too, that while this more immediately useful or beneficial effect on the common mind may be produced by the diffusion of natural knowledge among the people, biological science will share in the gain accruing to all branches of natural science, by the greater favour which will be accorded to its cultivators, and the increased freedom from prejudice with which their statements are received and considered by learned as well as by unscientific persons. I cannot conclude these observations without adverting to one aspect in which it may be thought that the appreciation of biological science has taken a retrograde rather than an advanced position. In this, I do not mean to refer to the special cultivators of biology in its scientific acceptation, but to the fact that there appears to have taken place of late a considerable increase in the number of persons who believe, or who imagine that they believe, in the class of phenomena which are now called spiritual, but which have been known, since the exhibitions of Mesmer, and, indeed, long before his time, under the most varied forms, as liable to occur in persons of an imaginative turn of mind and peculiar nervous susceptibility. It is to be regretted that a number of persons devote a large share of their time to the practice (for it does not deserve the name of study or investigation) of the alleged phenomena, and that a few men of acknowledged reputation in some departments of science have lent their names, and surrendered their judgment, to the countenance and attempted authentication of the delusive dreams of the practitioners of spiritualism, and similar chimerical hypotheses. The natural tendency to a belief in the marvellous is sufficient to explain the ready acceptance of such views by the ignorant; and it is not improbable that a higher species of similar credulity may frequently act with persons of greater cultivation, should their scientific information and training have been of a partial kind. It must be admitted, further, that extremely curious and rare and, to those who are not acquainted with the nervous functions, apparently marvellous phenomena, present themselves in peculiar states of the nervous system-some of which states may be induced through the mind and may be made more and more liable to recur, and to be greatly exaggerated by frequent repetition. But making the fullest allowance for all these conditions, it is still surprising that persons, otherwise appearing not to be irrational, should entertain a confirmed belief in the possibility of phenomena, which, while they are at variance with the best established physical laws, have never been brought under proof by the evidences of the senses, and are opposed to the dictates of sound judgment. It is so far satisfactory, in the interests of true biological science, that no man of note can be named from the long list of thoroughly well-informed anatomists and physiologists, who has not treated the belief in the separate existence of powers of animal magnetism and spiritualism as wild speculations, devoid of all foundation in the carefully tested observation of facts. It has been the habit of the votaries of the systems to which I have referred to assert that scientific men have neglected or declined to investigate the phenomena with attention and candour; but nothing can be further from the truth than this statement. Not to mention the admirable reports of the early French academicians, giving the account of the negative result of an examination of the earlier mesmeric phenomena by men in every way qualified to pronounce judgment on their nature, I am aware that from time to time men of eminence, and fully competent, by their knowledge of biological phenomena, and their skill and accuracy in conducting scientific investigation, have made the most patient and careful examination of the evidence placed before them by the professed believers and practitioners of so-called mesmeric, magnetic, phrenomagnetic, electrobiological, and other like phenomena; and the result has been uniformly the same in all cases when they were permitted to secure conditions by which the reality of the phenomena, or the justice of their interpretation, could be tested, viz. either that, on the one hand, the phenomena were not essentially different from those well known to physiologists as modifications of the nervous and muscular functions under peculiar mental states; or that, on the other hand, the experiments signally failed to educe the results professed, or that the experimenters were detected in shameless and determined impostures. I have myself been fully convinced of this by repeated examinations; and I can scarcely doubt that the same fate awaits the fair scientific examination of the so-called spiritualistic phenomena. But were any guarantee required for the care, soundness, and efficiency of the judgment of men of science on such phenomena and views, I have only to mention, in the first place, the revered name of Faraday, and in the next that of my life-long friend Dr. Sharpey, whose ability and candour none will dispute, and who, I am happy to think, is here among us, ready, from his past experience of such exhibitions, to bear his testimony against all cases of levitation, or the like, which may be the last wonder of the day among the mesmeric or spiritual pseudo-physiologists. The phenomena to which I have at present referred are in great part dependent upon natural principles of the human mird, placed, as it would appear, in dangerous alliance with certain tendencies of the nervous system. They ought not to be worked upon without the greatest caution, and they can only be fully understood by the accomplished physiologist who is also conversant with healthy and morbid psychology. The experience of the last hundred years tends to show that, while there are always to be found persons peculiarly liable to exhibit the phenomena in question, there will also exist a certain number of minds prone to adopt a belief in the marvellous and striking in preference to that which is easily understood and patent to the senses; but it may be confidently expected that the diffusion of a fuller and more accurate knowledge of physiology among the non-seientific classes of the community may lead to a juster appreciation of the phenomena in question, and a reduction of the number among them who are believers in scientific impossibilities. On some new Experiments relating to the Origin of Life. On the Action of Heat on Germ-life. By F. CRACE-CALVERT, F.R.S. The question of building ovens for disinfecting purposes, gives the subject of this paper more than a merely scientific interest, as it thus becomes one of great practical importance. As it is found that certain forms of life can exist when exposed to a temperature equal to that at which the charring of organic matter commences, it is unsafe to assume that the particular forms of life which propagate certain forms of disease will be destroyed below this temperature. As from the nature of the case stoving can only be partially applicable, and as it is at present not proved effective where it is applicable, it is unadvisable to spend public money until a greater degree of certainty is arrived at. The experiments described were not, however, undertaken with an intention of influencing the settlement of this question, but were part of a series on the question of putrefaction and the development of life. It has hitherto been assumed by the advocates of the theory of spontaneous generation, that a temperature of 212° Fahr., or the boiling-point of the fluid operated on, was sufficient to destroy all protoplasmic life, and that any life subsequently observed in such fluids must have been developed from non-living matter. *In consequence of several remonstrances made to me since the address was delivered, representing that the phenomena of spiritualism had not yet been subjected to a full scientific investigation, I have been induced to alter the two preceding sentences from their original into their present form. But I am still of opinion that these phenomena belong essentially to the same class as those of Mesmerism and Electrobiology. To determine this point experiments were made with solution of sugar, hay infusion, solution of gelatine, and water that had been in contact with putrid meat. To carry out these experiments, the author prepared a series of small tubes made of very thick well-annealed glass, each tube about 4 centimetres in length and having a bore of 5 millimetres. The fluid to be operated upon was introduced into them, and left exposed to the atmosphere for a sufficient length of time for germ-life to be largely developed. Each tube was then hermetically sealed and wrapped in wire gauze. They were then placed in an oil-bath and gradually heated to the required temperature, at which they were maintained for half an hour. The sugar solution was prepared by dissolving one part of sugar in ten parts of common water, and exposed to the atmosphere all night, so that life might impregnate it, then placed in tubes and allowed to stand five days. Some of the tubes were kept without being heated, others heated to 200, 300, 400, and 500° Fahr. respectively. After being kept twenty-four days, the contents of the tubes were microscopically examined. In the solution not heated, much life was seen; at 212° a great portion of the life had disappeared, at 300° the sugar was slightly charred but the life not entirely destroyed, while at 400° and 500° the sugar was almost entirely charred, and no trace of life observed. (It is a small black vibrio which resists the high temperature, and remains unaffected by all chemical solutions.) The hay infusion was made by macerating hay in common water for one hour, filtering the liquor and leaving it exposed to the atmosphere all night, when it was sealed in the small tubes. The results were examined twenty-four days after being heated. In this case, as in the sugar solution, life was observed in the solutions heated to 200° and 300° Fahr., while in those heated to 400° and 500° F. life was destroyed. In the solution not heated fungus matter was observed, while none appeared in any of the heated solutions. A solution of gelatine of such strength that it remained liquid in cooling, was exposed to the atmosphere for twenty-four hours, and introduced into the small tubes which were sealed and heated. The fluids were examined twenty-four days after being heated. The animalcules in this case were principally of a different class to those observed in the two preceding cases, and this class were injured at 100° Fahr. At 212° a considerable diminution in the amount had taken place, whilst at 300° all life was destroyed. Water was placed in an open vessel, and a piece of meat suspended in it until it became putrid. This fluid was placed in the usual tubes heated, and the contents examined after twenty-four days. In this case life was still observed at 300° Fahr., while at 400° it had disappeared. As previous experimenters have not exposed their solutions to so high a temperature as 300° Fahr., the life which they found was due to the development of germs remaining in the fluid. Parts of the putrid meat solutions that had been heated were mixed with albumen, to ascertain whether they still possessed the power of propagating life, the result being that up to 300° Fahr. life and its germs had not been destroyed, whilst at 400° they had. Putrid meat liquor was exposed for twenty hours to a temperature ranging from the freezing-point to 17° below that point. Immediately after melting the ice the animalcules appeared languid, and their power of locomotion was greatly decreased, but in two hours they appeared as energetic as before. On Spontaneous Generation, or Protoplasmic Life. The publication of Dr. Tyndall's paper on the abundance of germ-life in the atmosphere, and the difficulty of destroying this life, as well as other papers published by eminent men of science, suggested the inquiry if the germs existing or produced in a liquid in a state of fermentation or of putrefaction could be conveyed to a liquid susceptible of entering into these states; and during the inquiry some facts were observed which I wish now to lay before you. The first is the rapid development of germ-life. If the white of a new-laid egg be mixed with water (free from life), and exposed to the atmosphere for only fifteen minutes, in the months of August or September, it will show life in abundance; and to the want of a knowledge of this fact may be traced the erroneous conclusions arrived at by several gentlemen who have devoted their attention to the subject of spontaneous generation. An essential point in the carrying out of such an investigation, was the preparation of pure distilled water. In distilled water prepared by the ordinary methods, I always found life after it had been kept for a few days; but by employing an apparatus through which a gas could be passed to displace the air, and adding to the water to be distilled a solution of potash and permanganate of potash, I obtained a water which, after three or four distillations, was found to be free from life. The gas emploved in the first three series was hydrogen. The water was kept in the apparatus till wanted, to prevent any contact with air. Water so distilled having been kept free from life for seventeen days, was introduced into twelve small tubes, and left exposed to the atmosphere for fifteen hours when the tubes were closed. Every eight days the tubes were examined; on the first and second examination no life was observed, but the third discovered two or three black vibrios in each field. As this slow and limited development of life might be owing to the small amount of germs in the atmosphere, during the winter months a second series of experiments was made, placing the water in the tubes near putrid meat for two hours, at a temperature of 21° to 26° C. Six days after some of the tubes were examined and life observed, showing that by being placed near a source of protoplasmic life, the water had in two hours absorbed germs in sufficient quantity, for life to become visible in one fourth the time required in the first experiment; after six days a slight increase of life was noticed, but no further development could be afterwards seen. The limited amount of life developed in pure water suggested a third series of experiments, in which albumen was added to the water. In this case life appeared in five days, and a considerable increase in ten. Albumen, therefore, facilitated the development of life. The quantity of life produced in the above experiments being comparatively small, some fresh water was distilled, oxygen being substituted for the hydrogen in the apparatus; and a fourth series was commenced, which resulted in showing that although oxygen appears to favour the development of germs, it does not favour their reproduction. When the weather had become much warmer and a marked increase of life in the atmosphere had taken place, some of the albumen solution employed in the above experiments was left exposed in tubes to its influence, when a large quantity of life was rapidly developed and continued to increase, proving the increase to be due not merely to reproduction, but to the introduction of fresh germs. As no life appeared in that portion of the distilled water remaining in the apparatus before mentioned, which was examined from time to time, whilst it appeared in all the solutions made with it and impregnated by their exposure to the atmosphere, it is obvious that germs are necessary to the production of life. On the relative Powers of various Substances in preventing the Generation of Animalcules, or the Development of their Germs, with special reference to the Germ Theory of Putrefaction. By Dr. JOHN DOUGAL. On the advantage of Systematic Cooperation among Provincial NaturalHistory Societies, so as to make their observations available to Naturalists generally. By Sir WALTER ELLIOT, K.C.S.I., F.L.S. Sir Walter stated that he had been led to consider the subject in the prepara tion of an address delivered to the Botanical Society of Edinburgh last November, in the course of which he attempted to show what contributions had been made by provincial societies to botanical knowledge and literature. He found that the number of these societies had greatly increased of late years, and that they had done much useful and valuable work. This they publish in their own Proceedings or Transactions, the circulation of which is confined almost exclusively to their own members. The results of their labours are thus, in a great measure, lost both to their neighbours and to naturalists generally. After entering into some details of the subjects, illustrated by the Devonshire and Cornwall Societies, by the Berwickshire, Tyneside, Cotteswold, Woolhope, and other Field Clubs in their published 'Transactions,' many of the earlier volumes of which are so scarce as to be unprocurable by later members, he proceeded to show that this state of things had attracted the attention of others as well as of himself, and had given rise to a very general desire for greater unity of procedure. He concluded, therefore, that the time had come for taking action in the matter; and as the present occasion afforded an opportunity for discussing it with advantage, he invited the Section to take it up, with a view of eliciting practical suggestions (at the same time offering some himself) of such a nature as might be laid before the General Committee of the Association, and so enlisting the patronage of that body in its behalf. The Origin and Distribution of Microzymes (Bacteria) in water, and the circumstances which determine their Existence in the Tissues and Liquids of the Living Body. By Dr. BURDON SANDERSON, F.R.S., and Dr. FERRIER. The paper read was an abstract of the chief results of an experimental investigation into the intimate nature of contagion published in extenso in the 'Thirteenth Report of the Medical Officer of the Privy Council.' It was considered necessary to examine the conditions of origin and life of microzymes in special reference to the phyto-pathological doctrines of Professor Hallier. In order to test the presence or absence of microzymes in contagious or healthy liquids and tissues, the method was adopted of cultivating these organisms in soils suitable for their growth, and under conditions favourable to their multiplication and development. By the enormous reproductive power of these organisms, and the changes which they induce in the organic liquids in which they are cultivated, the presence of microzymes can be most satisfactorily determined. The organic liquids employed as soils were chiefly Pasteur's solution and albuminous liquids, such as scrum, &c. Before using these liquids as tests, however, it had first to be shown that they do not, in themselves, contain the conditions of evolution. For this purpose the liquids were introduced into capillary tubes, and investigated under the most varied conditions of exposure, temperature, and pressure. The results of numerous experiments, lasting over several months, proved satisfactorily that when these liquids had been raised to a temperature of 150°-200° C., or even to 100° C., and carefully preserved from contact from air or surfaces which had not been superheated, no evolution of organic forms ever took place; while in the same liquids which had not been heated, but otherwise kept under exactly the same conditions, organisms were found in large numbers. The results were not modified by any variations in the tension of the air to which the liquids were exposed. Other experiments made with boiled and unboiled Pasteur's solution, introduced into glasses which had been previously heated, showed that fungi (Torula and Penicillium) appeared in unboiled solutions whether they were exposed or not, but much more abundantly when they were exposed than when they were protected with cotton-wool, and that in boiled solutions the growth of Penicillium was more luxuriant than in unboiled solutions under similar circumstances. Bacteria did not appear in the boiled liquids under any circumstances. Bacteria and fungi, therefore, seemed to differ in regard to their conditions of origin and growth. The result of numerous experiments demonstrated that the solutions in which microzymes appeared were those which had come in contact with surfaces which had |