1881.] 



MICROSCOPICAL JOURNAL. 



83 



drop ; the coagulum was well washed 

 with alcohol and dried in vacuo. This 

 dried coagulum yielded its virulent 

 principle to water, from which it 

 might be again precipitated by alco- 

 hol in the form of white flakes ; and 

 although these flakes no longer killed 

 dogs, they were fatal to three succes- 

 sions of Guinea-pigs. Even after 

 being preserved five months in alco- 

 hol this virus was still capable of 

 destroying these animals. It appeared 

 impossible, at the time, to draw any 

 other conclusion than that the virus 

 was a soluble, formless ferment com- 

 parable to diastase.* 



It must be admitted that this con- 

 clusion seemed trustworthy ; at the 

 time it appeared impossible to explain 

 the result of these experiments in 

 any other way ; but there was a di- 

 rect antagonism between this result 

 and that previously reached by Koch. 

 Many of us felt discouraged and 

 feared that, notwithstanding the most 

 perseverant efforts, the subject was 

 destined to remain surrounded by an 

 impenetrable veil ; but a few, who 

 had not lost their faith in the possi- 

 bilities of scientific investigation to 

 conquer all difficulties, were certain 

 that this antagonism was only appa- 

 rent, and waited patiently for the 

 solving of the enigma. They had 

 not long to wait, for Pasteur at once 

 took up the question and convinced 

 M. Bert, in less than two months, 

 that the results above stated did not 

 conflict with the germ theory ; and 

 M. Bert read a second communica- 

 tion before the Acad^mie des Sciences 

 in which he satisfactorily explained 

 what had before been such a mys- 

 tery. He found that blood contain- 

 ing the bacillus rods alone, or urine 

 in which these were cultivated, lost 

 all virulence both by the action of 

 compressed oxygen and by that of 

 alcohol — the death of the organism 

 always meant death of the virus. 



* P. Bert. De I'emploi de I'oxygene 4 

 haute tension comme precede d'investigation 

 physiologique : des venins et des virus. 

 Comptes Rendus, May2l,i87i. 



Pasteur and Joubert had just shown 

 that the spores of bacilli and vibrios 

 may resist both of these agents ; did 

 this not explain how the disease was 

 produced by his preparations ? To 

 assure himself, he examined the 

 flakes which formed upon the addi- 

 tion of alcohol to the water that had 

 been charged with the first coagulum; 

 these contained numerous bright gran- 

 ules, identical in dimensions, form and 

 appearance with the spores. These 

 granules, placed in a proper cultiva- 

 tion-liquid, developed into long fila- 

 ments, and thus the proof of their 

 nature and vitality was complete ; 

 while the serum from Guinea-pigs 

 that had died from inoculations, 

 though extremely virulent, when 

 filtered through plaster, gave a filtrate 

 that might be inoculated with impu- 

 nity, showing conclusively that the 

 disease was not due to a soluble che- 

 mical poison or formless ferment. In 

 conclusion M. Bert says : '* It ap- 

 pears to me, then, absolutely demon- 

 strated that the blood with which I 

 experimented contained not only bac- 

 teridia, but septic vibrios, the cor- 

 puscle-germs of which have resisted 

 the alcohol as well as the compressed 

 oxygen, the adult organisms having, 

 on the contrary, succumbed to both 

 of these agents." 



M. Bert was completely satisfied, 

 as was every candid man, that his 

 experiments, instead of opposing the 

 germ-theory, really confirmed it ; but 

 some of the highest medical authori- 

 ties in England, after having access 

 to his second paper, either refused 

 to accept the latter part of the evi- 

 dence,* or quoted that part of the 

 observations which told against the 

 germ theory, and entirely suppressed 

 the remainder, f 



3. Greenfield's experiments. — It 

 seems to be established by Professor 



* T. R. Lewis. The Microphytes which 

 have been found in the Blood and their Rela- 

 tion to disease. Quart, youmal Mic. Science. 

 1879 ; pp. 373-5. 



f J, L. W. Thudichum. Annals of Che- 

 mical Medicine. London, 1879; pp. 231-2. 



