848 Experiments 



Experiment CCCCXCII. October 6. Blood from a sheep sick with 

 the anthrax (sent by Professor Trasbot). This blood inoculated in 

 guinea pigs was followed to the fourth virulent generation, 



Subjected in a thin layer to 20 superoxygenated atmospheres. 



October 9. Decompressed; inoculated in a guinea pig. 



October 10. The animal dies at 1 o'clock p. m. 



Experiment CCCCXCIII. November 20. Professor Trasbot sends 

 me serum taken from a sheep which had been inoculated with the 

 blood of a horse which had died of anthrax; many "bacteridies." 



I inject Vz cc. under the skin of a guinea pig. 



November 21. The animal was found dead in the morning. 



I take a little of its blood, which contains "bacteridies," mix it 

 with the serum which flowed from the spot of inoculation, and subject 

 it, in a thin layer (about 3 mm.), to the action of 20 atmospheres of 

 superoxygenated air. 



November 30. Decompression; the blood is red to the bottom. 



Injection into two guinea pigs. 



December 1. Both found dead in the morning. 



I give a subcutaneous inoculation with their blood to a guinea 

 pig and a dog. 



December 2. The guinea pig and the dog are dead. 



Here are experiments in which the "bacteridies" must have 

 been killed by the compressed oxygen, and in which nevertheless 

 the blood kept all its virulence; the second is particularly conclu- 

 sive, for in Experiment CCCCXCII the duration of the compres- 

 sion perhaps had not been sufficient. They prove then that this 

 dangerous property was not due, at least in the blood which I used, 

 to the existence of these tiny organisms. I also saw them corrobo- 

 rated by experiments which cannot be reported here but in which 

 I saw the virulent matter precipitated from the same blood by 

 alcohol, filtered, then dried, without losing its dangerous power, 

 which it could still transmit, as before, from generation to genera- 

 tion. 



And yet I think it would be unwise to apply this conclusion to 

 all the bloods called "charbonneux" (containing the germs of 

 anthrax) , and that it would be necessary first to make many more 

 experiments, using bloods from various sources, for it might be 

 that several diseases are confused under the common name charbon 

 (anthrax) . 4 



