OF DISEASE GERMS. 



2 53 



diseases, may be the degraded offspring of some kind 

 of normal living matter or bioplasm, which originally 

 possessed comparatively exalted tissue-forming or 

 other formative powers. 



A consideration of many different circumstances 

 leads me to suggest the possibility of the origination of 

 the contagious fever poison in the matter which grows 

 and multiplies in the capillaries in the feverish state. 

 It is not improbable that in certain states of system 

 the minute particles of bioplasm in the blood may 

 grow and multiply enormously, without ever being 

 developed into white blood-corpuscles, just as many 

 of the lower organisms multiply infinitely without one 

 of the offspring necessarily attaining the highest state 

 of perfection possible. The surrounding conditions 

 may be adverse to the individual particles attaining 

 their perfectly developed form, though favourable 

 to their growth and multiplication in an immature 

 state. 



The phenomena which occasion the formation of 

 ordinary pus, may, if they continue to occur for a 

 long period of time, determine the development of a 

 specific pus, which has still more marvellous powers of 

 vitality. So it may, I think, be reasonably argued that 

 if the ordinary feverish state be prolonged for a con- 

 siderable time, and be severe in degree, it is likely 

 that the bioplasm in the blood collected in the capil- 

 laries may give origin to bioplasm with marvellously 

 increased powers of retaining its vitality, of growing 



