Ill PASTEUR AND HYDROPHOBIA 149 



plan and Grancher, two eminent physicians, considered 

 Meister to be almost certain to die of hydrophobia. 

 M. Pasteur determined to treat the child by the method 

 of daily injection of the virus of a series of rabbits' 

 spinal cords, beginning with one kept so long as to be 

 ineffective in the production of rabies even in rabbits^ 

 and ending with one so virulent as to produce rabies 

 in a large dog in eight days. 



On the 6th of July 1885, M. Pasteur inoculated 

 Joseph Meister, under the skin, with a Pravaz's syringe 

 half full of sterilised broth (this is used merely as a 

 diluent), mixed with a fragment of rabid spinal cord 

 taken from a rabbit which had died on the 21st of 

 June. The cord had since that date been kept in a 

 jar containing dry air that is, fifteen days. On the 

 following days, Meister was inoculated with spinal 

 cord from rabid rabbits kept for a less period. On 

 the 7th of July, in the morning with cord of fourteen 

 days ; in the evening with cord of twelve days ; on 

 the 8th of July, in the morning with cord of eleven 

 days, in the evening with cord of nine days ; on the 

 9th of July, with cord of eight days ; on the 10th of 

 July, with cord of seven days; on the llth of July, 

 with cord of six days ; on the 12th of July, with cord 

 of five days; on the 13th of July, with cord of four 

 days; on the 14th of July, with cord of three days; 

 on the 15th of July, with cord of two days; on the 

 16th of July, with cord of one day. The fluid used 

 for the last inoculation was of a very virulent char- 

 acter. It was tested and found to produce rabies in 

 rabbits with an incubation period of seven days ; and 



