TOXIN AND ANTITOXIN. 537 



the lapse of weeks or months, it will be found that they sicken after 

 a shortened period of incubation. Are any further proofs of the 

 slow action of the toxophore group required? 



It is not easy to meet all of Gruber's statements because he fre- 

 quently makes use of misleading tactics. He often reaches the 

 same conclusions as 1 myself, and grants that certain of my views 

 are permissible or probable. In some things, he says, I am correct 

 in the main, in others I may be right, but have not strictly proved 

 my point. All these statements are but a clever contrivance to 

 give the reader the impression that my theory is but a product of 

 the imagination when as a matter of fact is it really a hypothesis 

 developed experimentally. This brings me to Gruber's fifth con- 

 clusion. 



5. " The development of antitoxin has no connection whatever 

 with toxic action or cell immunity." 



It will suffice for me to call attention to the fact that I have always 

 insisted on distinguishing between the haptophore and toxophore 

 groups in the toxin molecule and also between the anchoring and the 

 action of poison. I might add that this absolute independence of 

 toxic action and antibody production is a principle which 1 formu- 

 lated, not Gruber. As far back as 1898, Weigert l rightly pointed 

 out that my demonstration 2 of antitoxin production through non- 

 poisonous toxoids was sufficient to demonstrate the independence 

 of antitoxin production and toxic action. Furthermore I have 

 repeatedly pointed out that the development of antitoxin depends 

 on the haptophore group. Over 1 years ago Paltauf 3 called 

 Gruber's attention to the weak points in his objection and one might 

 therefore have expected that Gruber would not again bring forward 

 this old fairy-tale. In the future I shall not reply to perversions 

 of this kind. 



So far as the reasons are concerned, which Gruber gives in sup- 

 port of the above statement regarding the development of anti- 

 toxin, I may at once say that I can assent to them word for word- 

 Thus the statement that: 



(a) " Many substances which are entirely innocuous lead to 

 the formation of antibodies'' is the first consequence of my viewy 

 and experimental labors. The fact that 



1 Lubarsch-Ostertag, Ergebnisse der pathologischen Anatomie, IV Jahrgang. 



2 Werthbemessung des Diphtherieheiiserums, Klin. Jahrbuch. 



3 Wiener klin. Wochenschr. No. 49, 1901. 



