xvii] SEPTIC AND PATHOGENIC ORGANISMS. 223 



I have proved beyond any doubt that the jequirity bacillus, 

 per se, has no more power to create an infectious ophthalmia 

 than Buchner's hay bacillus had of creating anthrax. 

 The following experiments prove this conclusively : 

 The seeds of jequirity ( Abrus precaturius) are crushed 

 and powdered, the perisperm is removed, and of the rest an 

 infusion is made of about the strength of half per cent- 

 with distilled water, previously boiled and contained in a 

 flask previously sterilised (by heat) and plugged with sterile 

 cotton-wool. The infusion is made while the water is still 

 tepid. After half an hour the infusion is filtered into a 

 fresh sterile flask, plugged with sterile cotton-wool, the access 

 of air being limited as much as possible. This is effected 

 by keeping the cotton-wool in the mouth of the flask around 

 the end of the glass filter. The filtered fluid is of a slightly 

 yellowish-green colour, and is almost neutral and limpid. 

 A small quantity is withdrawn with a capillary glass pipette 

 freshly drawn out, and from this several test-tubes containing 

 sterile nourishing material (peptone solution, broth, Agar- 

 Agar and peptone) are inoculated ; and from the same 

 pipette, and at the same time, several eyeballs of healthy 

 rabbits are inoculated, by placing a drop or two of the 

 infusion under the conjunctiva bulbi. The test-tubes are 

 placed in the incubator and kept there at 35 C. After 

 twenty-four hours all eyeballs are intensely inflamed, the 

 eyelids closed and swollen, and a large amount of purulent 

 secretion is present in the conjunctival sac, but all the test- 

 tubes remain perfectly limpid ; no growth has made its 

 appearance, and they remain so. 



In a second series the infusion prepared in the above 

 manner is used fifteen minutes after it is made and used as 

 above, for inoculation of test-tubes and eyeballs. The fluid 

 in the test-tubes after incubation remains limpid, the eyeballs 



