The Poisoned Pen [25]
a rather unusual subject, "Spontaneous Generation of Life." It was in longhand and read:
*Many thanks for the copy of the paper by Prof. Betallion of Dijon on the artificial fertilization of the eggs of frogs. I consider it a most important advance in the artificial generation of life. __________________________________________________________________ *In the printed book this is shown as handwritten __________________________________________________________________ =20 I will not attempt to reproduce in facsimile the entire manuscript, for it is unnecessary, and, in fact, I merely set down part of its contents here because it seemed so utterly valueless to me at the time. It went on to say: While Betallion punctured the eggs with a platinum needle and developed them by means of electric discharges, Loeb in America placed eggs of the sea-urchin in a strong solution of sea water, then in a bath where they were subjected to the action of butyric acid. Finally they were placed in ordinary sea water again, where they developed in the natural manner. Delage at Roscorf used a liquid containing salts of magnesia and tannate of ammonia to produce the same result. In his latest book on the Origin of Life Dr. Charlton Bastian tells of using two solutions. One consisted of two or three drops of dilute sodium silicate with eight drops of liquor fern pernitratis to one ounce of distilled water. The other was composed of the same amount of the silicate with six drops of dilute phosphoric acid and six grains of ammonium phosphate. He filled sterilised tubes, sealed them hermetically, and heated them to 125 or 145 degrees, Centigrade, although 60 or 70 degrees would have killed any bacteria remaining in them. Next he exposed them to sunlight in a south window for from two to four months. When the tubes were opened Dr. Bastian found organisms in them which differed in no way from real bacteria. They grew and multiplied. He contends that he has proved the possibility of spontaneous generation of life. Then there were the experiments of John Butler Burke of Cambridge, who claimed that he had developed "radiobes" in tubes of sterilised bouillon by means of radium emanations. Daniel Berthelot in France last year announced that he had used the ultra-violet rays to duplicate nature's own process of chlorophyll assimilation. He has broken up carbon dioxide and water-vapour in the air in precisely the same way that the green cells of plants do it. Leduc at Nantes has made crystals grow from an artificial egg composed of certain chemicals. These crystals show all the apparent vital phenomena without being actually alive. His work is interesting, for it shows the physical forces that probably control minute life cells, once they are created. "What do you make of it?" asked Kennedy, noting the puzzled look on my face as I finished reading. "Well, recent research in the problem of the origin of life may be very interesting," I replied. "There are a good many chemicals mentioned here - I wonder if any of them is poisonous? But I am of the opinion that there is something more to this manuscript than a mere scientific paper." "Exactly, Walter," said Kennedy in half raillery. "What I wanted to know was how you would suggest getting at that something." Study as I might, I could make nothing out of it. Meanwhile Craig was busily figuring with a piece of paper and a pencil. "I give it up, Craig," I said at last. "It is late. Perhaps we had better both turn in, and we may have some ideas on it in the morning." For answer he merely shook his head and continued to scribble and figure on the paper. With a reluctant good-night I shut my door, determined to be up early in the morning and go for the tubes that Kharkoff was to prepare. But in the morning Kennedy was gone. I dressed hastily, and was just about to go out when he hurried in, showing plainly the effects of having spent a sleepless night. He flung an early edition of a newspaper on the table. "Too late," he exclaimed. "I tried to reach Kharkoff, but it was too late." "Another
*Many thanks for the copy of the paper by Prof. Betallion of Dijon on the artificial fertilization of the eggs of frogs. I consider it a most important advance in the artificial generation of life. __________________________________________________________________ *In the printed book this is shown as handwritten __________________________________________________________________ =20 I will not attempt to reproduce in facsimile the entire manuscript, for it is unnecessary, and, in fact, I merely set down part of its contents here because it seemed so utterly valueless to me at the time. It went on to say: While Betallion punctured the eggs with a platinum needle and developed them by means of electric discharges, Loeb in America placed eggs of the sea-urchin in a strong solution of sea water, then in a bath where they were subjected to the action of butyric acid. Finally they were placed in ordinary sea water again, where they developed in the natural manner. Delage at Roscorf used a liquid containing salts of magnesia and tannate of ammonia to produce the same result. In his latest book on the Origin of Life Dr. Charlton Bastian tells of using two solutions. One consisted of two or three drops of dilute sodium silicate with eight drops of liquor fern pernitratis to one ounce of distilled water. The other was composed of the same amount of the silicate with six drops of dilute phosphoric acid and six grains of ammonium phosphate. He filled sterilised tubes, sealed them hermetically, and heated them to 125 or 145 degrees, Centigrade, although 60 or 70 degrees would have killed any bacteria remaining in them. Next he exposed them to sunlight in a south window for from two to four months. When the tubes were opened Dr. Bastian found organisms in them which differed in no way from real bacteria. They grew and multiplied. He contends that he has proved the possibility of spontaneous generation of life. Then there were the experiments of John Butler Burke of Cambridge, who claimed that he had developed "radiobes" in tubes of sterilised bouillon by means of radium emanations. Daniel Berthelot in France last year announced that he had used the ultra-violet rays to duplicate nature's own process of chlorophyll assimilation. He has broken up carbon dioxide and water-vapour in the air in precisely the same way that the green cells of plants do it. Leduc at Nantes has made crystals grow from an artificial egg composed of certain chemicals. These crystals show all the apparent vital phenomena without being actually alive. His work is interesting, for it shows the physical forces that probably control minute life cells, once they are created. "What do you make of it?" asked Kennedy, noting the puzzled look on my face as I finished reading. "Well, recent research in the problem of the origin of life may be very interesting," I replied. "There are a good many chemicals mentioned here - I wonder if any of them is poisonous? But I am of the opinion that there is something more to this manuscript than a mere scientific paper." "Exactly, Walter," said Kennedy in half raillery. "What I wanted to know was how you would suggest getting at that something." Study as I might, I could make nothing out of it. Meanwhile Craig was busily figuring with a piece of paper and a pencil. "I give it up, Craig," I said at last. "It is late. Perhaps we had better both turn in, and we may have some ideas on it in the morning." For answer he merely shook his head and continued to scribble and figure on the paper. With a reluctant good-night I shut my door, determined to be up early in the morning and go for the tubes that Kharkoff was to prepare. But in the morning Kennedy was gone. I dressed hastily, and was just about to go out when he hurried in, showing plainly the effects of having spent a sleepless night. He flung an early edition of a newspaper on the table. "Too late," he exclaimed. "I tried to reach Kharkoff, but it was too late." "Another