GERMS. 55 



system furnishing them on demand, and that then 

 there is a great battle, and if the corpuscles win there 

 is no disease; but if they are defeated disease follows; 

 the germs dying later, largely from the effects of their 

 own poison. This is known as MetschnikoflPs theory. 

 Note the word "theory." 



Unless the story of the white corpuscles is true in 

 all cases it is not true in any, and it is not true in all, 

 for there is no increase in the white corpuscles in typ- 

 hoid fever, consumption, in many cases of diphtheria, 

 in leucocythemia, and many other diseases. 



In the disease leucocythemia there is an enormous 

 increase in the white corpuscles and yet this disease 

 is not caused by germs. Xo one claims it is. Here 

 we find the condition exactly opposite to Doctor Metsch- 

 nikoffs "theory." Will some State Board of Health 

 clear up the trouble? And yet this is hardly a fair 

 question, for each health board has "troubles of its 

 own.", Their whole existence is a vast sea of trouble, 

 their greatest trouble is to keep up with their own 

 theories; i. e., to prepare new theories as fast as they 

 discard old ones. 



Dr. Metschnikoff, a Russian, was the first to give us 

 the astounding information that when the system is 

 attacked with germs the white corpuscles instantly re- 

 spond to the call to arms; they throw out skirmish 

 lines; divide the main army into squads; surround the 

 invading germs; fall upon them and destroy them. 

 This is called phagocytosis. The professor says some- 

 times the germs "play possum," and when the white 

 corpuscles are carrying them away captives, the germs 



