304 APPLIED IMMUNOLOGY 



tion the use of the bacterial toxins has reduced the 

 percentage of recurrence from 75 to less than 25 



per cent. 



Yeast and Sour Milk 



Brewer's yeast {Saccliaromyces cerevisice) has 

 been a popular remedy in the treatment of furuncu- 

 losis. In many cases it appears to be without effect 

 and to-day is being supplanted by staphylococco-bac- 

 terins. The employment of yeast in tuberculosis and 

 cancer has been a failure. 



MetchnikofF observed that the peasants in certain 

 parts of Bulgaria, whose staple diet consisted in the 

 consumption of peculiar soured milks, lived to an 

 advanced old age. A peculiar lactic acid bacillus, 

 the Bacillus lactis Bulgaricus or Bacillus of Massol, 

 was shown to be the effective organism. Accordingly, 

 tne ingestion of sour milk ha§ become a world-wide 

 practice in the hope of avoiding senility, correcting 

 putrefactive intestinal processes and a host of other 

 affections, as infantile diarrhoea and enterocolitis, 

 intestinal indigestion and auto-intoxication, diabetes, 

 rheumatism, gout, arteriosclerosis, etc. Obviously, 

 the results have not measured up to expectations, 

 although benefit seems to have attended the use of 

 artificially prepared soured milk in many cases. 



There are many tablets on the market for imme- 

 diate ingestion or for making buttermilk, purporting 



