1 42 NATURE OF POISON 



unfortunately happen from a dissection-wound in the 

 course of making a post-mortem examination, terrible 

 inflammation may be excited in the person inoculated. 

 The most tiny morsel of this virulent, rapidly-multi- 

 plying morbid bioplasm may give rise to a dreadful 

 form of " blood-poisoning," which may end fatally 

 and in a very short time. 



In some cases similar poisonous particles which 

 have been derived from a diseased organism are so 

 very light that they are supported by the air, and may 

 find their way into the blood of a healthy (?) person 

 through his respiratory organs, or may gain access to 

 his circulating fluid by traversing the narrow chinks 

 between the epithelial cells of the cuticle. 



Now, what is the nature of the matter inoculated, 

 which produces these dreadful results ? The virulent 

 poison which sometimes destroys life in cases of dis- 

 section-wounds cannot, as was remarked in Part I, be 

 attributed to the presence of vegetable germs, for the 

 period of its most virulent activity is very soon after 

 death, but before the occurrence of putrefaction, 

 when the vegetable fungus germs multiply. A punc- 

 tured wound is not. dangerous if putrefactive decom- 

 position has taken place, because, although bacteria 

 are developed in immense numbers, the real contagious 

 virus is dead. The vegetable germs in fact grow and 

 flourish upon the products resulting from the death of 

 the dangerous animal living poison. In short this 

 material is living and very actively growing germinal 



