Inefficacy of Vaccine Inoculation. 79 



thanks of the legislature ; and the opportunities I had of 

 making myself acquainted with his opinions, taught 

 me to listen with caution to any new practice, which 

 was to overturn all I had made myself master of. 



When, therefore, It was proposed to me, to intro- 

 duce a neix) disease into the human system, I hesitated ; 

 but, on the assurances given to me, that it was still 

 milder than the inoculated small-pox, was productive 

 of no ill consequences, and would equally arrest the 

 progress of variolous infection, I consented that Abra- 

 ham Howard, the first child mentioned at my examina- 

 tion, should be vaccinated. The cow-pox terminated 

 successfully, but the child afterward sickened, and 

 had an eruption, ^^■hich I considered the small-pox, 

 though others called it an hybrid eruption, an appear- 

 ance which, I was told, had been described as not un- 

 common at the Small-pox Hospital, when the patient 

 had been previously in a variolous atmosphere. 



Two other cases*, however, were followed by dis- 

 tinct and unequivocal small-pox, after vaccination, and 

 then it was admitted, that the cow-pox would not ar- 

 rest the progress of variolous infection ; although it is 

 well known, inoculation of the small-pox, within a 

 limited period, will supersede and subdue it. 



These cases ascertained, that there was no such 

 thing as an hybrid or mulish eruption, but that what 

 had been called so, at the Small-pox Hospital, was the 

 real small-pox. 



* Will. Rinch, M. Solloway. Vide report. 



