Washington standard. [volume] (Olympia, Wash. Territory) 1860-1921, 1876-10-14

DOSed TO the ar Will 1erment anu soon
be found teeming with life, both ami
NAL and vegetable, and this too after
such mixtures have been subjected to
the most intense heat. But if, after
the boiling, the air is entirely excluded,
the mixtures will not ferment nor pro-
duce living things. The question was,
What has the air to with the support
of these minute life-forms? The spon-
taneous generation party said simply,
To furnish the right conditions of their
existence. The other party said: No,
for it is we'll known that lack of air
does not kill them once; they are living,
but the air is full of spores and germs
which it drops into the water and thus
makes their birth possible.
Mr.. Tyndall made cubical box air
tight, and coated it inside with glycer-
inc. Though this box, from side to
side, by means of nicely contrived win
dows, he sent single ray of sunlight.
This ray passing through the box was
at first distinctly visible from an aper-
erature of observation, provided with a
good lens, which was situated so the
line of vision was at right angles to the
line Of the ray of light. This proved
that the air was full of something, that
refracted or reflected the ray of light.
Certain bottles of fluids suitable for
the experiment were placed in the box
and some of them opened during the
first day or two, and were soon swarm
ing with life. But after several days,
the ray Of light could no longer be
seen. Itpassed'in at one side of the
box and out at the other unbroken.
There were then nothing in the air,
all the floating particles had, as he had
touched the sides of the
box and adhered to it. Other Walls Of
the same fluids were then opened, but
these did not produce life forms of any
kind. Then the box was opened and
the glycerine on the sides microscope
cally examined. They was found
paved with the spores of many varieties
fungesses, and the germ cells of many
other life forms. This form of expert
ment, many times repeated, always
giving the same results, proved con-
that the air is at all times sat
urated, SO to speak, with fungus spores
and particles, capable of reproducing
the forms of life that produced them.
One thing more concerning these
fungus spores. In many varieties of
funguses, the animal body or spore has
the power of Independent locomotion,
at least through water. They swim
freely by means of vibrating cilea,
minute hair like projections which
keep up constant motion, and it takes
very little water to float them. We
are often hearing exaggerated accounts
of the steamboat that will float wher-
ever there is heavy dew. We may
take this very literally concerning the
spores of many kinds of fun guses.
When we remember that. these little
navigators are only 1-20, ,OO0th of an inch
in diameter, we can see that what seems
slight moisture to the naked eye is
really quite an ocean to them.
These little moving bodies, finally
become fixed and send out a minute
webby growth, which extends and ram
ifies throughout the entire extent of
the tissues upon which the spore has
fallen, just as the roots of wheat sown
upon cotton, floating on glass of wa
ter, form network in the water be-
low. This living, branching, webby
growth, is called the n,yceliuna of the
fungus, and is it's chief growth, the
real fungus. From this mycelium, or
web, arise at many points little stems,
like miniature mushrooms, the top of
which is the seed vessel. This vessel,
finally bursts, and the germs are set
free, with or without the power of in
locomotion, according to
the species, to be waited through the
air for many miles, to remain inactive
and dry for months, and then, through
a little moisture to revive and swim
away, full of life as ever, and so, by
some means or other, to reach a place
where new life and growth may be
begun. There is, perhaps, nothing
that ever decays except by the help of
the mycelium of some fungus. These
delicate fbers, will penetrate almost
anything, as, ON account of their min
uteness, they easily pass through the
pores which exist even in the hardest
of substances. Our idea of rot, or de-
cay, then, has to be reformed. Things
may fall away, particle from particle;
as the stone disintegrates through loss
of cohesive force-this is one sort of
decay. But beside this, there is no
other that is not accompanied, and pro-
badly we may say caused, SO far as we
know the cause of anything, by other
life forms appropriating the matter be-
longing to the decaying organism.
And this new life, springing on the
heels of that which is departed, is gen.
orally the mycelium of some form of
fungus.