THE CELLULAR SUBSTANCE OF PNEUMOCOCCUS 211 



The difference lies in the less marked convulsive character 

 of the third stage. When injected intraperitoneally in 

 guinea-pigs, the coat soon roughens, and for some minutes 

 the animal seems quiet. Weakness of the hind limbs 

 develops and the upper part of the body is shaken by 

 spasms resembling severe hiccough. The paralysis rapidly 

 develops and spreads, and the animal lies on one side. 

 It dies in most instances without general convulsions. 

 The respiration becomes slower and the heart continues to 

 pulsate for some minutes after respiration has stopped. 

 Death occurs in from twenty minutes to an hour. The 

 temperature curve begins to fall soon after the injection, 

 and continues until death. In cases of recovery the first 

 sign of improvement is a rise in temperature, and it comes 

 up more slowly than it went down. 



It is worthy of note that in case of inoculation with the 

 living organism there is an incubation period of about ten 

 hours. This is followed by the complete triumph of the 

 infection, and is shown by the even and constant fall in 

 temperature. With the dead cellular substance the incu- 

 bation period is shortened, but the character of the fall is 

 the same. With the free poison there is no period of incu- 

 bation, and the temperature begins to fall in a few minutes. 

 In all, the temperature curve is the same in general char- 

 acter. Certainly, it must be true that the poison which 

 affects and kills the animal must be the same in the living 

 and dead cell, and in the split product. 



We demonstrated that the poisonous portion, like that 

 obtained from other proteins, establishes on repeated 

 injections of non-fatal doses a certain degree of tolerance, 

 but gives no immunity against infection. 



The recent work of Rosenow 1 on the autolytic cleavage 

 products of the pneumococcus, and certain other bacteria 

 is of great interest and value. The pneumococcus readily 

 undergoes autolysis, and Rosenow has studied the products 

 resulting in this way. The following are some of the more 



1 Jour. Infect. Dis., ix, 190; x, 113; xi, 286, 480. 



