NATURE 



49 



THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 20, 



BACTERIOLOGY 

 A MONG the most striking of the recent rapid advances 

 of science is the development of what we may term 

 bacteriology. For more than one hundred years a debate 

 had been going on as to the origin of the minute forms of 

 life which were present in decomposing organic materials, 

 but till the publications of Cagniard-Latour and Schwann 

 no part was assigned to them in the production of the 

 chemical changes which these materials'undergo. It was 

 not, however, till the publication of Pasteur's papers on 

 the alcoholic fermentation and on spontaneous generation 

 little more than twenty years ago that any sound basis 

 was obtained for the idea that a micro-organism was able 

 to cause fermentation. The science of bacteriology really 

 dates its commencement from the first publication of 

 Pasteur's papers. Following rapidly on this work, re- 

 searches have been carried on which have now demon- 

 strated that all the fermentations belonging to the same 

 class as the alcoholic fermentation are due to the develop- 

 ment of micro organisms, and that bacteria are most im- 

 portant factors in Nature, being the chief agents by which 

 the complex organic constituents of plants and animals 

 are brought back to simple forms capable of serving again 

 as food for plants. 



But the researches have not been confined to the study 

 of fermentations. In 1S51, Rayer and Daraine observed 

 in the blood of animals suffering from splenic fever the 

 presence of numerous small rods which were supposed 

 to be crystals. On the publication of Pasteur's papers, 

 Daraine again took up the subject, and came to the con- 

 clusion that these rods were bacteria and the cause of 

 the disease. For some years little was done in this 

 direction, though microscopical observations on the oc- 

 currence of bacteria in various diseases were described. 

 With the publication of the investigations of Koch and 

 Pasteur on anthrax, and more especially of Koch's modes 

 of cultivation, a new start was made, and these researches 

 have since been carried on with a certainty and a pre- 

 cision that could not have been anticipated, and have led 

 to the accumulation of a large amount of knowledge with 

 regard to the causation of infective diseases. A causal 

 relation has been established between bacteria and splenic 

 fever, various septicemic affections, and infective diseases 

 in the lower animals, tuberculosis, glanders, erysipelas, 

 and other diseases in man ; while in a number of other 

 cases, in which the causal relation has not been com- 

 pletely demonstrated, facts have been made out which 

 render it extremely probable. In spite, however, of this 

 large addition to our knowledge, the subject is as yet little 

 more than in its infancy, numerous questions of the 

 greatest importance and likely to lead to the most im- 

 portant results still requiring investigation. 



Apart from its purely scientific interest there is perhaps 

 no department of science which so nearly concerns the 

 health and well-being of the community, and already 

 important practical results have been obtained, affect- 

 ing medicine, industry, and public health. Following 

 closely on Pasteur's early publications, and as a direct 

 result of them, we have the great revolution in surgery 

 Vol. xxxi. — No. 786 



brought about by Sir Joseph Lister, resulting in such 

 improvements in the management of wounds as have 

 been the means of saving numerous lives and of greatly 

 enlarging the scope of surgical interference. Cur know- 

 ledge of the value of disinfectants, of the mode of spread 

 of infective disease, and of the precautions necessary to 

 prevent its spread has also been very largely increased, 

 and must lead to great improvements in hygiene. Nor 

 must we omit to mention the valuable experiments begun 

 by Toussaint and Pasteur, and now being carried on to a 

 large extent by Pasteur, on the attenuation of virus and 

 the conversion of virulent micro-organisms into useful 

 vaccines. This has been demonstrated to be possible in 

 the cases of chicken cholera, anthrax, pig typhoid, and 

 possibly hydrophobia, and has been put practically into 

 force in France in the case of the first three affections. 

 Useful facts affecting various industries have also been 

 made out. The deplorable condition of the silkworm 

 industry some years ago and Pasteur's investigations 

 thereon are well known, and have led to the restoration 

 of the silk manufacture ; while his work on diseases of 

 beer and wine, and the work of others on various ferment- 

 ations, have proved of the greatest benefit. 



While some of this work has been done in this country, 

 by far the greater part has been done abroad, more 

 especially in Germany and France, where its importance 

 is recognised, and where special facilities are afforded by 

 the Governments and various public bodies. In Germany 

 especially, besides the laboratory, supported by the 

 Government, in which Dr. Koch works, a number of 

 similar institutions are being established throughout the 

 country ; and in France the laboratories of Pasteur and 

 others are established and supported by the Government 

 and by various municipal authorities, every facility for 

 carrying on these researches, and the necessary funds, 

 being provided. In this country, on the other hand, 

 there is no laboratory of the kind, and what work has 

 been done has been by individual investigators working 

 at their own expense, and often without suitable accom- 

 modation. To carry on this work a considerable amount 

 of apparatus is necessary, an assistant is required, and 

 the use of a laboratory where animals can be kept is 

 essential. Without the help of a trained assistant, the 

 investigator's time must be largely taken up in the steri- 

 lisation and preparation of his cultivating media and in 

 other manual work, leaving but little time for actual 

 investigation, more especially if, as is often the case, 

 teaching or medical practice must be carried on as well 

 in order to earn a livelihood. How different are the 

 conditions where a well-equipped laboratory is provided, 

 where trained assistants are present, and where a salary 

 is given sufficient to enable the investigator to devote his 

 whole time to the work. Surely it would be possible to 

 establish a proper laboratory in this country. 



That the matter is felt to be of importance was shown last 

 summer bythe fact that the Executive Councilof the Health 

 Exhibition devoted a considerable sum to the establishment 

 of a model laboratory under the direction of Mr. Watson 

 Cheyne, in which many of the results and the most recent 

 methods of investigation were shown. This laboratory 

 was visited by large numbers of scientific men and others, 

 and the hope was universally expressed that the model 

 would become the basis of a permanent institution. We 



