THE LABORATORY OF THE ECOLE NORMALE. 277 



however, quickly disappear. As long as the cure of 

 these little abscesses is not quite completed, one can ex- 

 tract from them the microscopic organism which has 

 formed them. When the little parasite is sought for in 

 the general blood of those attacked with boils it is not 

 found. The cause of this, no doubt, is that an aerobic 

 parasite has always some difficulty in developing itself 

 in the blood. The blood corpuscles appropriate, and 

 do not willingly give up to a foreign organism, the 

 oxygen which they require. There is a struggle for 

 life, and in the struggle against the boils the victory 

 is not doubtful. It might be thought, then, that the 

 little organism of boils does not exist in the blood, but 

 there is no doubt that if, instead of a small drop of 

 blood, one could put several grammes or more into 

 cultivation fruitful results would follow. The little 

 parasite is no doubt conveyed by the blood at one time 

 or other. It is transported from a boil, in the process 

 of development, to another point of the body, where it 

 may be fortuitously arrested, there to cultivate itself 

 and form a new boil. 



' It is to be wished,' said Pasteur, ' that a patient 

 would submit to a number of punctures on different 

 parts of the body, distant from boils already formed 

 or in process of formation, and that with the blood 

 thus taken from the general circulation a multitude of 

 cultivations might be carried on. I am persuaded,' 

 he added, ' that, among these cultivations, we should 



