94 PASTEUR AND AFTER PASTEUR 



can fail to understand the profound influence, on 

 that work, of Koch's discovery. 



1. He made it possible to detect the disease 

 by microscopic examination of the sputa, or of 

 matter from an abscess. This test is in daily 

 practice all over the world. 



2. The present methods of vaccine-therapy 

 in the tubercular diseases all go back to his 

 use, in 1890, of tuberculin. That first use 

 was dangerous : it did good in some cases ; but 

 in some cases it was disastrous. It is close on a 

 quarter of a century since 1890. During this 

 long time, many new forms of tuberculin 

 have been devised ; the indications for its 

 use have been studied with the utmost care- 

 fulness ; and it is now in general use, for a 

 large proportion of cases, with good results. 



3. The tuberculin-test for cattle has been 

 adopted everywhere, and has been a very great 

 advantage to agriculture. The Royal Com- 

 mission on Tuberculosis, in 1913, issued a 

 supplementary report, by Dr. Cobbett and 

 Dr. Stanley Griffith, on this test : making the 

 fact plain, that with cattle, swine, goats, and 

 horses, it is of the utmost value. Among 250 

 tuberculous cattle, no less than 88-8 per cent, 

 reacted to the test : among 1,217 normal 

 cattle, only 0*4 per cent, gave a reaction. Of 



