Note 98 — Chapter V · The Alcoholic Ferments.

The germs of ferments are less widely diffused than M. de Bary supposes, as may be seen from our observations in Chap. III. See, too, our Memoir of 1862, Sur les Générations dites Spontanées, p. 49. It is only in a laboratory devoted to researches on fermentation, or places such as vaults, cellars, and breweries, that the air holds appreciably in suspension cells of ferments, ready to germinate in saccharine media. If we except these particular circumstances, ferment is not very largely diffused, save on the surface of fruits and the wood of the trees which bear them, and perhaps, also, on some other plants. The particles of dust held in suspension in any atmosphere whatever rarely produce fermentation in pure must even when we take all possible precautions, so that the action be not overlooked; for true fermentation may be hidden by fungoid growths, when there is much air and but a small quantity of saccharine liquid present.