‎PASTEUR (L.)‎
‎Expériences relatives aux générations dites spontanées ; 4 MEMOIRES ORIGINAUX in Compte-rendus de l'Académie des sciences, tomes 50 et 51 -- EDITION ORIGINALE -- 2 VOLUMES (COMPLETE SET)‎

‎P., Mallet-Bachelier, 1860, 2 volumes in 4 brochés, couvertures muettes de l'époque, étiquettes imprimées au dos, pp. 303/307, 849/854 et 348/352, 675/678‎

Reference : 3991

‎---- EDITION ORIGINALE ---- GARRISON N° 2474 ---- "Beginning in February 1860, Pasteur presented to the Académie des Sciences a series of notes focusing specifically on spontaneous generation. In the first and most important of these papers, he began by examining the solid particles of the air... Having far only repeated the experiments of Schwann and others, Pasteur now introduced an important modification. After a month to six weeks he removed the flask from the stove and connected it to an elaborate apparatus so arranged that a small wad of guncotton previously charged with atmospheric dust could be made to slide into the hitherto sterile liquid in the flask. In twenty-four to thirty-six hours, the liquid swarmed with familiar microorganisms. Thus, Pasteur concluded, the dust of the air, sown in an otherwise sterile medium, produces organisms of the same sort and in the same period of time as would appear if the liquid were freely exposed to ordinary air. Finally, to counter the objection that these microorganisms arose not from germs in the atmospheric dust, but "spontaneously" from the organic matter in the guncotton, Pasteur replaced the guncotton with dust-charges asbestos, amineral substance, and obtained the same results. With dust-free or precalcined asbestos, on the other hand, no growths appeared in the flask. To confirm and extend conclusions on the role of atmospheric dust, Pasteur employed a third method, perhaps, the most influential by virtue of its elegant simplicity : the famous "swan-necked" flask...". (DSB X pp. 368/369)**3991/ARB1‎