376 THE AMERICAN MONTHLY [Nov. 



while there seemed to be somewhat leys infection in child- 

 ren's eyes. 



Cultures were also made from the conjunctiva as soon 

 as jiossible after rising in the morning and again at even- 

 ing. The eyes of eighteen persons were examined in 

 the morning soon afttr rising and the same eyes were ex- 

 amined again at night. In this way it was found that 

 of the morning tubes only two were sterile, while of the 

 night tubes nine were sterile. It would seem probable, 

 then, that the natural cleansing of the eye by the lach- 

 rymal secretion is more efficient during waking hours. 

 An attempt was then made to sterilize the eyes of six 

 patients. The process of sterilization consisted merely in 

 washing the eye, in three cases with boric acid (one 

 drachm to one ounce) and in three other cases with bich- 

 loride of mercury, 1 to 5,000. 



After cleansing, the eyes were bandaged with steril- 

 ized cotton for twenty-four hours. The bandages were 

 then taken off and cultures made from the conjunctiva?. 



Of the three eyes washed with boric acid, all tubes 

 showed colonies which were nearly all of the staphylo- 

 coccus albus. Of the tubes obtained from those eyes 

 washed with bichloride, one was sterile and the other 

 two infected. The colonies present in these cases were 

 also of the staphylococcus albus. Thus, in an attempt 

 to sterilize the conjunctiva! in six cases, only one case 

 proved successful. 



Inasmuch as a certain proportion of tubes remain sterile 

 after inoculation from the normal conjunctiva without 

 sterilization, it seems doubtfull whether the attempted 

 sterilization was of any value at all. Bach's results were 

 somewhat more favorable than mine, he rendering six- 

 teen cases sterile out of forty-two attempts. Washing 

 the conjunctiva cannot be depended on as a means of 

 sterilization. A boric-acid washing probably has no 

 more value than washing with sterilized salt solution. 



