930 



SCIENCE. 



[N. S. Vol. XIX. No. 494. 



taken from more than twenty cases of tu- 

 berculous disease in human beings, including 

 sputum from phthisical patients and the dis- 

 eased parts of the lungs in pulmonary tuber- 

 culosis, mesenteric glands in primary abdom- 

 inal tuberculosis, tuberculous bronchial and 

 cervical glands and tuberculous joints. We 

 have compared the effects produced by these 

 with the effects produced by several different 

 strains of tuberculous material of bovine 

 origin. 



" In the case of seven of the above strains 

 of human origin, the introduction of the hu- 

 man tuberculous material into cattle gave rise 

 at once to acute tuberculosis, with the develop- 

 ment of widespread disease in various organs 

 of the body, such as the lungs, spleen, liver, 

 lymphatic glands, etc. In some instances the 

 disease was of remarkable severity. 



" In the case of the remaining strains, the 

 bovine animal into which the tuberculous ma- 

 terial was first introduced was affected to a 

 less extent. The tuberculous disease was 

 either limited to the spot where the material 

 was introduced (this occurred, however, in two 

 instances only, and these at the very beginning 

 of our inquiry), or spread to a variable extent 

 from the seat of inoculation along the lym- 

 phatic glands, with, at most, the appearance 

 of a very small amount of tubercle in such 

 organs as the lungs and spleen. Yet tuber- 

 culous material taken from the bovine animal 

 thus affected, and introduced successively into 

 other bovine animals, or into guinea-pigs from 

 which bovine animals were subsequently in- 

 oculated, has, up to the present, in the case of 

 five of these remaining strains, ultimately 

 given rise in the bovine animal to general 

 tuberculosis of an intense character; and we 

 are still carrying out observations in this di- 

 rection. 



" We have very carefully compared the dis- 

 ease thus set up in the bovine animal by ma- 

 terial of human origin with that set up in the 

 bovine animal by material of bovine origin, 

 and so far we have found the one, both in its 

 broad general features and in its finer histo- 

 logical details, to be identical with the other. 

 We have so far failed to discover any char- 

 acter by which we could distinguish the one 



from the other; and our records contain ac- 

 counts of tlie post-mortem examinations of 

 bovine animals infected with tuberculous ma- 

 terial of human origin which might be used 

 as tjrpical descriptions of ordinary bovine 

 tuberculosis. 



" The results which we have thus obtained 

 are so striking that we have felt it our duty 

 to make them known without further delay in 

 the present interim report. 



" We defer to a further report all narration 

 of the details of our experiments (and we may 

 say that up to the present time we have made 

 use of more than two hundred bovine ani- 

 mals), as well as all discussions, including 

 those dealing with the influence of dose and 

 of individual as well as racial susceptibility, 

 with questions of the specific virulence of the 

 different strains of bacilli, with the relative 

 activity of cultures of bacilli and of emulsions 

 of tuberculous organs and tissues, and with 

 other points. In that report we shall deal 

 fully with all these matters, as well as with 

 the question why our results differ from those 

 of some other observers." 



THE INTERNATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF 

 ACADEMIES. 



As we have already noted, The International 

 Association of Academies met in London, on 

 May 24, 25, 26 and 2Y under the presidency of 

 Sir Michael Foster. From reports published 

 in the London Times, we take the following 

 details. Lord Eeay was nominated vice-presi- 

 dent and Dr. Diels, Professor Darboux, Count 

 Balzani and Professor Bakhuysen were ap- 

 pointed honorary presidents. 



A resolution was passed to the effect that 

 the initiation of any new international organ- 

 ization, to be maintained by subventions from 

 different states, demands careful previous ex- 

 amination into the value and objects of such 

 organization, and that it is desirable that pro- 

 posals to establish such organizations should 

 be considered by the International Association 

 of Academies before definite action is taken. 



Professor Credner moved " That this meet- 

 ing recognizes the great value of the Inter- 

 national Catalogue of Scientific Literature, 

 and the importance of aiding the work by 



