84 BACTERIOLOGY. 



that we successfully administer quinine for 

 malaria, mercury preparations for syphilis, and 

 salicylic acid for rheumatism. The search 

 after similar specifics is certainly not to be re- 

 garded as hopeless when it is remembered that 

 quinine is a stronger poison for the lower ani- 

 mals or for the algae than strychnine or mor- 

 phine, while with the higher animals the re- 

 verse is the case. According to Donath, chino- 

 lin is harmless for yeasts, but is a poison for the 

 bacteria of putrefaction. 



We shall see that in a way to be considered 

 later the aldehyde group (COH) and the amido 

 group (NH 2 ) are of particularly great impor- 

 tance in the construction of organic substance, 

 especially proteid, and play a prominent role 

 in the activity of the protoplasmic proteids of 

 all cells. On the strength of the foregoing 

 fact, Oscar Low predicted and then proved by 

 many experiments, since confirmed by other 

 investigators, that all substances which attack 

 these atom groups are poisons, since they 

 destroy the stability of the active proteid 

 molecule and so arrest life. Such sub- 

 stances, which are proved to be poisons for 

 protoplasm in general, must be also poisons 

 for bacteria, and hence suitable for purposes 

 of antisepsis, disinfection or sterilization. Ex- 

 amples of such bodies which, even in great 



