Wiallu'i\ Water and Disease. 35 



imniuiiity is just undergoing earnest study. There is another 

 theory as to how bacterial growths and products can be dis- 

 posed of after getting access to the body. A French investi- 

 gator has proven, under the microscope, that the white blood 

 corpuscles, or leucocytes so-called, which have the power of 

 motion, will, by a slow movement, al)sorb the bacillus, which 

 is much smaller, and by a sort of digestive process destroy 

 the bacillus, and thus put it out of the way of doing farther 

 harm. This can not be called a battle of giants, for the cor- 

 puscle is about Y^Vo of ^" '"<^li a"*^^ ths micro-organism much 

 smaller, y^n^oir. It depends upon the comparative strength of 

 bacillus, or leucocyte, or blood corpuscle, whether the indi- 

 vidual become infected or not. To read some of the accounts 

 of this procedure, we would fear that the personal element of 

 the mythological era was returning to the scientific age. It 

 reminds one of the eager action of bass or trout when the 

 fisherman casts his fly on the waters. It is snapped up in 

 short order. 



The other form of imnumity is acquired. Vaccination for 

 small-pox is an instance. One attack of scarlet fever or 

 measles or typhoid fever generally prevents return. Attenua- 

 tion of bacterial virus is being used to produce immunity 

 against certain diseases. Pasteur's vaccinations for sheep 

 disease, hydrophobia, etc., are some of the earliest results of 

 immunity acquired in that way ; more recently the attenuated 

 virus of the pneumonia microbe has been used to prevent and 

 relieve pneumonia. Also, the attenuated virus of diphtheria 

 has been used with success for the same purpose in animals. 

 The duration of the immunity varies considerably. It is not 

 an impossible thing that, in the future, compulsory vaccination 

 for consumption may become a law. These experiments, so 

 far, have been nearly all on animals. One result of this prac- 

 tice, in six cases of pneumonia in the human being, was a 

 reduction of 3° to 4° within twelve hours. Our capacity for 

 defense again.st disease is limited in a very remarkable way. 



Bacteriological work has disclosed a series of results which 

 show how one may be made liable to the inroads of disease. 

 It is now known that the human system, with its complexities 

 of function and structure, becomes at times autotoxic or self- 

 poisoning. If the action of the skin become suppressed, and 



