210 TRANSACTIONS OF THE [.MARCH 29, 



composition inimical to their own further multiplication, as indol, 

 skatol, phenol, and sepsin. It may be mentioned, however, that 

 wliile these substances are in certain proportions inimical to the 

 growth of micro-organisms, they seem much more so to man him- 

 self, and it is more than probable that a proportion sufficiently 

 large in the circulation to inhibit the growth of bacteria would 

 (juickly place the man outside the need of ])rotection from any 

 mortal disease. Since, however, the substances producod by 

 them (the pathogenin bacteria) are organic, and of the nature, 

 possibly, of the alkaloids in some cases, I contemplate a study of 

 the effect of solutions of the ordinary alkaloids upon bacterial 

 life. The above facts will, however, show how small the support 

 thus far given to this theory is. 



Tiie arguments used against this theory as presented in this 

 paper are so patent that one is almost tempted to ask if there is 

 not some possibility of mistaking Dr. Klein's position; for it is 

 readily seen that if, instead of a jioison produced (either by the 

 micro-organisms or by morbid action of the body during their 

 invasion) and subsequently stored, we can assume that the cells 

 of the body have acquirecl by the disease some new activity or 

 function that would allow them to elaborate it, many of tlie dif- 

 ficulties would be removed. We have interjireted Dr. Klein as 

 carefully as ])ossible, but to avoid any such question, a few lines 

 from his book will show how far such a theory was from his 

 thoughts. 



Thus, speaking of the "antidote theory,'" the one which he 

 favors, he says: 



"Some observers (Grawitz, etc.) are not satisfied with this 

 theory, but assume that, owing to the first attack, the cells of the 

 tissues so change their nature that they become capable of resist- 

 ing the immigration of a new generation of the same organism. 

 There is absolutely nothing that I know of in favor of such a 

 theory; it is imjtossible to imagine that the cells of the connec- 

 tive tissues, of the blood, and of other organs, owing; to a past 

 attack of scarlatina, become possessed of new functions or of 

 some now power, as, for instance, a greater i)ower of oxidizing 

 or the like. Connective-tissue cells, blood-corpuscles, liver-cells, 

 and other tissues are, so far as we know, possessed of precisely 

 the same characters and functions after an attack of scarlatina 

 as before." To which I would reply that, "so far as we know," 

 the composition of the ])lood is the same after recovery also. It 

 is because we do not know, that we are seeking to ascertain the 

 most probable theory, and if Dr. Klein is justified in allud- 

 ing to the meagreness of our knowledge of the chemical constit- 

 uents of blood of different species, different individuals, and the 

 same person before and after disease, 1 am Justified as a chemist- 



