372 TIMOTHY RICHARDS LEWIS. 



specific virus of splenic fever, Dr. Ewart finds that the filaments 

 are not absolutely motionless, but that, at certain stages, they 

 manifest active movements, so that the strongest argument which 

 has hitherto been adduced in favour of these organisms being a 

 peculiar species has disappeared.^ 



Dr. Ewart found also that the bacilli of splenic fever in guinea- 

 pigs difi'ered in size from similar bodies in affected mice, the 

 bacilli of the former being always longer than those of the latter. 

 It was also ascertained that the bacilli and their * spores' were 

 killed after being boiled for only two minutes^ the fluid after this 

 treatment becoming absolutely inert. A like result ensued on 

 similar fluid being subjected to a pressure of twelve atmospheres 

 of oxygen.^ Considering the position into which the supporters 

 of the germ doctrine had latterly been driven by their anta- 

 gonists, the announcement made above regarding the instability 

 of the ' spores' will be unwelcome, and none the less so by the 

 circumstance of its having been made by one of their warm 

 adherents. 



A few years ago Mons. P. Bert announced that he had ascer- 

 tained that compressed oxygen rapidly kills all living beings and 

 tissues. He had paid special attention to ferments in the in- 

 vestigations which he had conducted, and had satisfied himself 

 that such of the fermentation processes as were dependent on 

 living matter were immediately suspended when subjected to this 

 influence, whereas those fermentations which were due to some 

 material in solution, such as diastase, pancreatine, myrosine, 

 emulsine, &c., were in no way affected. He then turned his atten- 

 tion to certain poisons secreted in health or disease in animals, 

 the venomous secretion of the scorpion, vaccine matter, &c.^ 



The venom of the scorpion, whether liquid or dried and re- 

 dissolved in water, resisted the action of compressed oxygen, 

 as was expected, since it owes its activity to a chemical substance 

 akin to the vegetable alkaloids. "Fresh liquid vaccine matter 

 was submitted for a week to the action of compressed oxygen, 

 and still retained its power undiminished. Pus from a case of 

 glanders, after being subjected to similar treatment, rapidly 

 killed a horse inoculated with it; hence M. Bert infers that the 



* Since this was written T have observed that A. Frisch had on three 

 occasions seen independent movements of the staves of Bacillus anthracis 

 in blood obtained immediately after the death of the animals, ' Ceutralblatt 

 fiir die wissensch. Mediciu/ April 7, 1877, p. 247. 



2 Since this was in type a note has appeared in the ' Comptes Rendus,' 

 15th July, 1878, which confirms this observation. M. Eelz found that 

 compressed oxygen, if applied for a sufficiently long period, killed the 

 "germs" as well as the *' vibrions" of septic solutions. 



3 ' Comptes Rendus,' t. Ixxxiv, p. 1130, May, 1877. 



