October 27, 1893.] 



SCIENCE. 



233 



ficient to kill an animal whose spleen has not been subjec- 

 ted to this training, may ba introduced without ill effect. 



On this theory, the production of immunity consists of a 

 special education of certain cells and artificial immunity 

 becomes essentially cellular. The differance between im- 

 munity and tolerance I conceive to be this: In the former, 

 the of certain organs become aggressive, a special function 

 is developed. The poison introduced is destroyed. In 

 tolerance, there is no aggressive action on the part of any 

 organ. 



There is no develoj)ment of special functions. The 

 poison introduced is not destroyed, it only fails to kill. 



Now what can be said about the relation between the 

 principles of inmunity and those of cure? Are they the 

 same? I think that there are essential differences. In the 

 first place, the substances with which inmunity is induced 

 are not applicable in the jaroduction of a cure. They are 

 already in the body and have failed to stimulate the nuc- 

 lein-forming cells in such a manner as to cause their own 

 destruction. To introduce more of the bacterial poison 

 after the invading virus has established itself in the sys- 

 tem will onlj' strengthen the invader. 



If I am right concerning this differance between the 

 agents of inmunity and cure, to what source shall we 

 look for curative substances in the infectious diseases? 

 Either we must introduce into the body some germicide 

 formed by other cells, or we must emjsloy other agencies 

 for the purpose of stimulating the nuclein forming cells. 



Blood-sei'um therapy offers the first of these alternatives, 

 and now that we know that the germicidal constituent 

 of the blood is a nuclein, blood-serum therapy will give 

 place to nuclein therapy, and with the latter there is more 

 hope of accomplishing good results because it reduces the 

 size of the dose. 



Now that we have learned that the animal body itself 

 generates a germicide more jjowerful in its action than 

 corrosive sublimate, and since we know how to increase 

 the amount of this substance in the blood and can in- 

 solate it and inject it into other animals, a new theory of 

 the treatment of diseases is opened to us. 



If it be possible to kill the germs or destroy the bacter- 

 ial poison after the development of an infectious disease, 

 by the introduction of a germicde or a toxicide formed by 

 other cells than those of the infected jDerson, then we may 

 expect that cures for diseases of this kind will be found in 

 the near future. Experimentation offers the only means 

 of ascertaining whether or not this be possible. The re- 

 cently reported cases of tetanus successfully treated with 

 the antitoxin of Tizzoni and Cattani, obtained from the 

 blood of animals which have been rendered immune to 

 this disease, are in accord with this principle. 



If nuclein therapy fails us, we must strive to find 

 agents that will stimulate the nuclein forming glands. 

 This probably is the shief factor in the climatic treatment 

 of tuberculosis, but so far as our knowledge of medicinal 

 substances that will accomplish this result goes, we are 

 practically and wholly ignorant. 



I have used the "cure," limiting its meaning to the des- 

 truction of the germ or other poison. If we could destroy 

 all of the bacilli in the body of a tuberculous patient, 

 would a cure be effected? If we ever reach this desider- 

 atum, nature will probably do the rest. 



CONSCIOUSNESS UNDER THE INFLUENCE OF 

 CANNABIS INDICA. 



BY E. W. SCKIPTUEE, Y.4XE TTNIVERSITY, NEW H.WEN, CONN. 



The statement is generally made that the extract of 

 Cannahis Indica (flowers of the Indian hemp whose leaves 

 and resin furnish hashish) causes time and space to be 



greatly lengthened in consciousness. Wishing to know 

 what is meant by these statements I obtained the pre- 

 scription : 



fRx. 



Ex. Cannabis Indica; i oz. 



(P. 1). & Co.) 

 Alcohol 20 oz. 



M. Lig. Alcoholic solution of extract of 

 I Cannibis indica. One drachm contains 

 I three grains. Commencing dose ten 

 I drops containing one-quarter grain 

 [ of the exti act. 



One evening I took ten drops as prescribed. No effects 

 were noticed for over 45 minutes. Concluding that the 

 dose was not strong enough I gave up the experiment for 

 that occasion and drank a mug of beer preparatory to re- 

 tiring. The narcotic action of the hojss probably assisted 

 in bringing on the effects of the dose. It is to be noted 

 that my consciousness is very suspectible to the influence 

 of narcotics. 



For over an hour and a half, till final sleep occurred, 

 and in a lesser degree throughout the next day, several 

 important changes in mental life were observed. The 

 most striking was the fluctuation of attention. The ex- 

 l^eriments of Lange (Philos. Studien, IV, 390) and of 

 Eckener, Pace and Marbe (Philos. Stud., VIII, 343, -388, 

 615) have demonstrated the phenomenon as a normal con- 

 dition for weak stimuli. For example, the faint tick- 

 ing of a watch is alternately lost and heard. It holds 

 good also of stronger sensations ; the ticking of a clock, 

 although loud, will vary in its apparent intensity. The 

 immense fluctuations under the influence of hemp can be 

 illustrated by the following case which occurred several 

 times. A horse car is heard approaching ; shortly after- 

 ward I find that the sound enters anew into conscious- 

 ness ; again it enters anew, and this is repeated through 

 all the phases of approach, passage and retreat of the car. 

 While listening to the sound, it somehow slii^s away, just 

 as in Lange's experiment, 8 nd returns after a while. In 

 describing the phenomenon I have avoided saying that the 

 sound is heard, dies away, is heard again ; all that is 

 known in consciousness is the repeated entrance of the 

 sound and the memory of the fact that it had been lost 

 out of view a moment before. 



The next most striking phenomenon was the remote- 

 ness of objects in their relation to myself. After the phe- 

 nomenon had begun to be noticeable I wrote down on the 

 spot the condition 1 found myself in. The words are : 

 "Events seem more distant in feeling of subjectivity — 

 events happened seem to have happened in time remotely 

 related to the observer — apparently the time seems quite 

 remote — yet after all it is not really longer than the usual 

 time. Events in sjDace are less j)ersonal, yet not further 

 away. My feet on a chcir in front do not seem so close to 

 me but my legs are not longer." I could estimate a period 

 of five minutes quite correctly ; I could touch objects 

 without any noticeable error of estimation. Yet events 

 of five minutes ago belonged to the past and objects on 

 the table beside me seemed scarcely to be there for me to 

 reach them. During the following day I several times no- 

 ticed that a minute after seeing a place or an object, the 

 event might as well have occiu'red on the jwevious day. 



All these phenomena, in a minor degree, I have fre- 

 quently observed when depressed by dull weather or by 

 fatigue. On those occasions and under the influence of 

 hemp there seems to be a partial loss of power of volition 

 in general. This, I think, gives the key note to the phe- 

 nomena noticed. Holding a sensation steadily under at- 

 tention requires an effort, in fact, even when the sensation 

 is strictly attended to, it unquestionably undergoes con- 

 tinual fluctuation of conscious intensity. Attention, even 

 in its simplest form, the so-called involuntary attention. 



