'Referring to another point on which the lecturer had insisted--namely, that there was no power of spontaneous generation of the germs or contagion of diseases, Professor Tyndall said that, though at present great names were opposed to that view, he would venture to predict that ten years hence there would be very few great names opposed to the lecturer on that matter. With regard to the power of specific contagia to be generated in decomposing animal matter, he would say that for the last twenty-one years he had been in the habit of visiting the upper Alpine valleys, where, amongst the Swiss châlets, there was the most abominable decomposition going on from day to day, and exceedingly bad smells, but there these contagious diseases were entirely unknown. If, however, a person suffering from typhoid fever were transported there, the disease would spread like wildfire from this infected focus, and probably take possession of the entire population. It might be taken, therefore, that any of these special diseases required its special germ or seed for its production, just as you required a grape-seed to produce a vine. He entirely agreed with all that Dr Corfield had stated as to these diseases 'breeding true.' He never found the virus of small-pox producing typhoid, or _vice versâ_. The subject was one of the most important which could engage the attention of the scientific physician.' * * * * * Printed and Published by W. & R. CHAMBERS, 47 Paternoster Row, LONDON, and 339 High Street, EDINBURGH. * * * * * _All Rights Reserved._ * * * * * Transcriber's note--the following changes have been made to this text: Page 554: Milwaukie to Milwaukee Page 558: tomatos to tomatoes End of the Project Gutenberg EBook of Chambers's Journal of Popular Literature, Science, and Art, No. 714, by Various