ANTHRAX IS ALSO A VIRUS DISEASE 291 



would have wished to be everywhere, to see every- 

 thing, and to rely on no one. He had opened the cam- 

 paign in an almost startling manner with that famous 

 experiment at Pouilly-le-Fort, which so impressed every- 

 body. I shall borrow the account from M. Roux, who 

 saw it and collaborated in it. 



^'The Society of Agriculture of Melun had proposed 

 to Pasteur a public trial of the new method. The pro- 

 gram was arranged for the 28th of April, 1881. 

 Chamberland and I were away on a vacation. Pasteur 

 wrote to us to return immediately, and when we were 

 reunited in the laboratory he told us what had been 

 agreed upon. Twenty-five sheep were to be vaccinated, 

 and then inoculated with anthrax; at the same time 25 

 other sheep would be inoculated as checks; the first 

 would resist; the second would die of anthrax. The 

 terms were exact; no allowance was made for contin- 

 gencies. When we remarked that the program was 

 severe, but that there was nothing to do except carry 

 it out since he had agreed to it, Pasteur replied: 

 'What succeeded with 14 sheep in the laboratory will 

 succeed with 50 in Melun.' 



"The animals were collected at Pouilly-le-Fort, near 

 Melun, on the property of M. Rossignol, a veterinarian 

 who originated the idea of the experiment and who was 

 to watch it. 'Be sure not to make a mistake in the 

 bottles,' said Pasteur gaily, when on the fifth of May, 

 we were leaving the laboratory in order to make the 

 first inoculations with the vaccine. 



"A second vaccination was made on the 17th of May, 

 and every day Chamberland and I would go to visit 

 the animals. On these repeated journeys from Melun 

 to Pouilly-le-Fort, many comments were overheard, 

 which showed that belief in our success was not universal. 

 Farmers, veterinarians, doctors, followed the experi- 



