Louis Pasteur: His Life and LaboursVallery-Radot, René
Science
Louis Pasteur: His Life and Labours
Vallery-Radot, René
Pasteur, Louis, 1822-1895; Scientists -- France -- Biography
At the Academy of Sciences, some days later, a mine was sprung upon
Pasteur by a posthumous publication of Claude Bernard's. He again
submitted this abruptly raised question to the decision of the Academy.
A series of experiments had been found among Bernard's papers, having
as their object the inauguration of a new method of spontaneously
generating the substance which causes the fermentation of the must of
the grape.
'I will start for the Jura,' said Pasteur. 'In the midst of my
vineyard, which,' he proudly added, 'is ten meters square, I will cover
over some stocks with an improvised frame. These stocks will go on
living and bearing grapes, which will ripen. It is now July. At this
time of year, as I have already declared, the germs of the cellules
which form the ferment of the grape in the vats do not yet exist,
either on the green grapes, on the bunches, or on the vine leaves. I
will envelop the bunches of the stocks that are underneath the frame
with a layer of cotton wool that has been raised to a temperature of
150 degrees Centigrade. This done, I will come back to Paris with the
keys of the frame in my pocket, not returning to the Jura until the
vintage season, at the beginning of October. I predict to the Academy,
that the grapes wrapped in cotton wool under the frame, and which will
have grown ripe, may be crushed in the open air, and that the juice
coming from them will not be capable of fermentation.'
This prediction was fulfilled. In October, Pasteur returned to the
Jura, plucked off several of these stocks, laden with ripe bunches,
and brought them with the utmost care to Paris. He had at last the
satisfaction of depositing them intact on the table of the Academy of
Sciences. He then invited M. Berthelot (editor of Bernard's pamphlet),
and all his colleagues, to cut off as many bunches as they pleased.
'Only crush them in contact with pure air,' said he, 'and I defy you to
produce fermentation.'
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
Reviews
Reviews
No reviews yet
Be the first to share your thoughts on this work.
Elsewhere in the archive
Join the Discussion
Join the discussion
Sign in to leave a comment or review.
Sign InorCreate an account