Page 92 - Ethel D. Hume - Bešam ili Paster: Izgubljeno poglavlje u istoriji biologije

THE "LITTLE BODIES' 8g
tions against any air coming into contact. To continue, he
proved by innumerable experiments that when all access
of air was entirely shut away, no change took place in a
sugar solution, even when chemically pure calcium car-
bonate, CaCO 3 , was added, but directly ordinary chalk,
even from his specially conserved block was introduced,
fermentation took place, although the entry of atmos-
pheric germs had been guarded against completely. No
addition of creosote, even in increased doses, could then
prevent the inversion of the sugar.
Bechamp was, naturally, extremely surprised to find
that a mineral, a rock, could thus play the part of a fer-
ment. It was clear to him that chalk must contain some-
thing over and above calcium carbonate. He, therefore,
called to his help his good ally, the microscope. Working
with the highest power obtainable, he undertook a minute
investigation both of pure calcium carbonate and of the
chalk he had used for his experiments. Great was his
amazement to find in the latter "little bodies," similar to
those he had noted in other observations, while nothing of
the sort was to be seen in the former. Also, while in the
microscopic preparation of the calcium carbonate every-
thing was opaque and motionless, in that of the chalk the
"little bodies" were agitated by a movement similar to
that known as "Brownian," after the naturalist, Robert
Brown, but which Bechamp differentiated from it. 1
These "little bodies" were distinguishable by the way in
which they refracted light from their opaque surroundings.
They were smaller than any of the microphytes seen up to
that time in fermentations; but were more powerful as
ferments than any known and it was because of their
fermentative activity that he regarded them as living.
To form any correct estimate of the magnitude of the
discovery upon the brink of which Bechamp hovered, we
must remind ourselves of the scientific opinions of the
epoch. The Professor's observations were made at a date
when most believed in Virchow's view of the cell as the
1
La TMorie du Microzyma, par A. Bkhamp, p. 115.