128 THE BACTERIA IN ASIATIC CHOLERA. [CH. 



Numbers of experiments were made at the Brown Institution 

 by Mr. Dowdeswell and myself, by injecting into the 

 duodenum of dogs and guinea-pigs considerable quantities 

 of cultures, recent and old, of the choleraic comma-bacilli 

 in nutritive gelatine and in Agar-agar, but with no result. 



I have also, after the manner of Ferran, 1 injected sub- 

 cutaneously into guinea-pigs large quantities (3-5 ccm.) of 

 cultures of the comma-bacilli in nutritive gelatine and in 

 broth. Two guinea-pigs received each subcutaneously 4ccm. 

 of a culture of Koch's comma-bacillus in beef-broth kept at 

 37 C. for three days. The fluid was crowded with the 

 comma-bacilli. No result whatever followed. 



Two guinea-pigs were similarly inoculated each with 4 ccm. 

 of nutritive gelatine liquefied by, and crowded with the 

 choleraic comma-bacilli ; two other guinea-pigs were similarly 

 inoculated, each with 4 ccm. of nutritive gelatine liquefied 

 by Finkler's comma-bacillus. All four animals were dead 

 in twenty-four hours. The symptoms during life were those 

 of ptomaine-poisoning. Post-mortem examination showed 

 that the whole of the subcutaneous tissue of the chest and 

 abdomen was dark red and cedematous, the viscera much 

 congested, the spleen small. The heart's blood contained 

 in the first two animals Koch's comma-bacilli, in the two 

 second animals Finkler's comma-bacilli, as was proved by 

 cultivations. Cultivations made of the intestinal contents 

 fluid grumous mucus yielded no comma-bacilli. Experi- 

 ments made with small quantities J i ccm. of the above 

 gelatine-cultures, produced no result. Thus it is seen that 

 gelatine-cultures contain the same chemical ferment, but 

 only in relatively small quantity, since huge doses of such 

 cultures are required to produce the effect, small doses being 

 without effect ; and it is further seen that this ferment is not 

 1 Comptes Rendus, 1885. 



