TRANSACTIONS AND PROCEEDINGS 



BOTANICAL SOCIETY OF EDINBURGH. 



SESSION LXIV. 



Presidential Address. By Wm. Watson, M.D. 



(Delivered 9th November 1899.) 



As many of you are aware, the microbe which is the 

 cause of Bombay and Hong-Kong plague was discovered in 

 1893 by a Japanese, named Kitasato, and it has been 

 proved beyond dispute that this microbe is really the 

 cause of plague, as a fluid prepared from the matter of the 

 buboes, which occur in the course of the disease, has been 

 successfully employed by Dr. Haffkine to inoculate human 

 beings. The persons so inoculated suffer from a febrile 

 attack, and undoubtedly acquire protection against attacks 

 of plague. 



The analogy to smallpox is perfect. Before vaccination 

 was invented, this is exactly how people were inoculated to 

 protect them against smallpox. 



Of course, it is liable to the disadvantage that it may 

 spread the disease. If plague matter is carried in tubes 

 to a place where there is no plague, and people are inocu- 

 lated, the disease is almost certain to spring up in an 

 epidemic form, just as smallpox was spread in an epidemic 

 form if people were inoculated in a locality where there 

 was no smallpox. 



This objection is, of course, obviated if only those are 

 inoculated who live in an affected locality, but who have 

 not themselves been attacked. 



TRANS. BOX. SOC. EDIX. VOI.. XXI. R 



