118 JOURNAL OF THE TRINIDAD 



"internal viscera as some writers seem to think, they are at any 

 " rate, much harder to find by ordinary methods." Whereas they 

 were frequently found in tubercles, lie then describes several 

 experiments at inoculation of animals with leprous bacilli. A 

 cat inoculated three times, showed, four months later, no al 

 mal symptoms or bacillus in heart, muscle, or blood from the 

 heart. A fowl similarly inoculated, and actually fed < 

 material, surrounded the in with a false mem- 



brane beyond which no bacilli w< re foun months I 



After narrating these experiments and others he quotes KJ 

 four conditions which, if fulfilled, prove that a certain ; - due 



to a particular micro-organism, and then he says "It is thus 

 "evident that we are still a long way from proving conclu: ively 

 "that leprosy is a bacillary disease." Meanwhile, IV. Rake had 

 formed an opinion that a good deal mighl he done in the way 

 of local palliative treatment by of tubercles, and 



he modestly describes the results in two cases which led to im- 

 proved persona] appearance and al y to 

 ulceration, and photographs before and after the o 

 illustrate the result. In his return fo 



March 1887, he suggests that "it would be ; g to com- 



" pare the ige of lepers with the pr 



" find drainage, dee:, i-e in the price of E 



"sanitatii n note, a case bearing on 



the question of the lie;-. •. out he does 



not appear to have considered it one of sufficient value to form 



any scientific basis upon. In the report of March 1888, he 



States that the bacillus had been found in 32 internal viscera 



and in 11 other parts, the most frequent situation being the 



femoral gland. No bacilli were found in the viscera in any 



case before the disease had la. -ted two years. He then 



into the question < ' ion. "This question has been very 



" much to the fore during the year not only in the medical joui 



"but also in the public papers. The College of Physicians 



"however has issued a report in which it .sustains with x^vy 



"slight modifications the position which it took up in 1867. 



"My own views founded on personal observation and 



"experiment have already been published (British M 



"Journal August 20th and Sept. 17th, 1887) I have, however, a 



" large number of experiments still going on or in prospect and 



"shall of course have no hesitation in changing my opinion if I 



"find scientific ground for so doing. One point which I think 



"is of considerable importance was well brought out in a lea 



" article inthe 1 imes of Nov. 8th, 1887. C erofa 



"somewhat alarmist nature which appeared the same day. it was 



'• suggested with great reason that the apparent increase of leprosy 



"in many places during the las t fee, years is in great measure due 



