ANTHRAX POISON. 179 



Quite in agreement with this are the results obtained by 

 ARLOING. 1 He merely allowed bouillon cultures of anthrax to 

 stand, and then decanted the liquid at frequent intervals from 

 the deposited bacteria, thus obtaining a germ-free fluid, in which 

 obviously there was no possibility of the very considerable loss 

 of poison retained by the filters usually employed. On the other 

 hand, the toxine might very easily undergo decomposition during 

 the long standing. The fluid thus obtained had an immunising 

 effect when given in large doses. 



There are also the results obtained by SCLAVO 2 and MARcnoux, 3 who 

 produced immunity by means of the living bacilli ; but these have ap- 

 parently nothing to do with the question of a toxine. At all events, 

 MARCHOUX asserts that his serum acts by means of phagocytosis. 



The next serious attempts to discover the toxine were those 

 made by MARMiEK, 4 who, from cultivations on peptone-glycerin 

 (1 litre of water, 40 grms. of peptone, 15 grms. NaCl, 40 grms. 

 of glycerin, 0-5 grm. of sodium bisulphate, and 0-2 grm. of 

 potassium bisulphate), preferably grown at 20 C., obtained a 

 substance, which, when separated by precipitation with am- 

 monium sulphate and dialysis, or by extraction with glycerin 

 and precipitation with alcohol, formed a pulverulent brown mass 

 giving neither proteid nor alkaloidal reactions, and showing no 

 enzymic activity. 



It was toxic to the extent of 0*08 grm. per kilo, of animal 

 (though not constantly so), and caused elevation of temperature, 

 diarrhoea, emaciation, convulsions, slowed respiration, and suffo- 

 cation. A dose of 0*2 grm. per kilo, was invariably fatal. 

 According to MARMIER the symptoms here were sufficiently 

 similar to those caused by infection with living bacteria as to 

 justify the conclusion that they were due to a specific anthrax 

 toxine. 



There are two reasons, however, against the view that there 

 was a true toxine here, apart from the fact that the lethal dose 

 was surely a little too high for a true toxine. 



In the first place, MARMIER stated that the poison could be 

 boiled for an hour without alteration, and could even resist being- 

 heated for five minutes at 120 C., and hence it could not have 



1 Arloing, " Sur la presence de la substance phylacogene dans les liquides 

 (lu bac. anthr.," Bull MecL, 1892, 1038, quoted from Centralbl. fur RaU., 

 xiii., 561, 1892. 



2 Sclavo, "Ueber die Bereitung des Serums gegen den Milzbrand," 

 Centralbl. f. Bakt., xviii., 744, 1895. 



3 Marchoux, "S4rum anticharbonneux," Ann. Past., ix., 9, 1895. 



4 Marmier, "Sur la toxine charbonneuse," Ann. Paxt., ix., 533, 1895. 



