194 PROTEIN POISONS 



filter, dissolved in a small volume of water, refiltered, 

 reprecipitated with alcohol, this being repeated until a 

 perfectly clear aqueous solution was obtained. The albu- 

 mose was further purified by dialysis, and as thus obtained, 

 it was found to be freely soluble in water and to give the 

 ordinary reactions for proteins. These investigators failed 

 to make any satisfactory study of this product, and the 

 repetition of their work by others has led to negative results. 

 Marmier 1 attempted to isolate a poison from cultures 

 grown in a medium of the following composition: 



Water 1000.0 



Peptone 40.0 



Sodium chloride 15.0 



Sodium phosphate 0.5 



Potassium phosphate 0.2 



Glycerin 40.0 



Before inoculation this fluid was filtered through porcelain, 

 and then sterilized at 110. The peptone used was obtained 

 from the commercial preparation by the precipitation of 

 the albumoses with ammonium sulphate, and the salts 

 were removed by dialysis. In this medium the anthrax 

 bacillus, especially the sporeless form, grew abundantly. 

 In order to obtain the poison the culture was filtered and 

 saturated at room temperature with ammonium sulphate, 

 which produced a more or less abundant precipitate. This 

 was allowed to stand for some hours and filtered, after which 

 the precipitate was washed with a saturated solution of 

 ammonium sulphate. Subsequently the precipitate was 

 dissolved in water, freed from salts by dialysis, concen- 

 trated, feebly acidified with sulphuric acid, and precipitated 

 with alcohol. The substance thus obtained was found to 

 be soluble in water and in a 1 per cent, solution of phenol. 

 It was said not to give any of the reactions for albumoses 

 or alkaloids, but this can scarcely be true. This work has 

 had no confirmation, and is mentioned here simply because 

 of its historical interest. 



1 Ann. de 1'Institut Pasteur, 1895, ix, 533. 



