Procecdijigs of Societies. io$ 



ing occurence: When convalescing from sickness recently, he 

 had ordered a broiled chicken. While preparing it for cooking 

 his wife noticed peculiar spots on the liver and spleen and showed 

 them to him. As they were apparently tubercular, he placed 

 them in preservative fluid until his recovery, when, upon chemical 

 treatment and microscopical examination, the material was found 

 to be crowded with true tubercular bacilli. The liver and spleen 

 were especially infected, but bacilli were also plentifully found in 

 the mesenteric glands, the lungs and other parts. He had there- 

 upon made inquiries among the cooks of several large hotels and 

 boarding-houses, and was by them supplied with material for 

 further investigation. In the short time that he had been study- 

 ing the matter he had found six chickens, all very badly infested 

 with the bacillus in question, and he believed that probably 5 per 

 cent of all the fowls offered for sale in this city were similarly 

 affected. It was true that most of the organs thus affected were 

 not used for food, yet, this was not always the case. Danger to 

 the human race of infection from this source was greatly reduced, 

 from the fact that the thermal death-point of the bacillus tubercu- 

 losis was about 150° P'ahrenheit, so that in the process of cooking 

 thoroughly they would be destroyed. A much higher temperat- 

 ure, however, is required to kill the spores of these bacilli, and, 

 as there could scarcely be a doubt of the existence of spore-bear- 

 ing bacilli in the chicken, it could not be said that danger from 

 this source did not exist. While, therefore, by no means wishing 

 to assume the role of alarmist, the speaker wished to commend 

 the subject to microscopists and the medical fraternity, for its 

 interest as well as its importance. Specimens of infected organs 

 of chicke^ns were shown, and mounted slides, showing the tuber- 

 culous matter and the bacilli themselves, all stained by chemical 

 re-agents, were shown under a number of microscopes. A set of 

 slides illustrative of the subject was donated to the society by Dr. 

 Stallard, and a vote of thanks was thereupon tendered him for his 

 donation and his interesting address. 



Two interesting slides of native wire copper from Lake Superior 

 were handed in by Dr. Selfridge. 



As an instance of the brilliance with which many animal integu- 

 ments are displayed by the use of polarized light, the Secretary 

 exhibited a carbolic-acid mount of the human flea, and also a 

 slide of a rare marine crustacean from the Channel Islands. 



March 23, 1887. The committee to which was referred the 

 subject of tuberculous milk, asked to be discharged, as from the 

 great difficulty of finding suitable material, it was almost impossi- 

 ble to proceed further in the matter at present. In the specimen 

 of cow's lung which had been submitted as containing bacilli, 

 none had been detected. 



A valuable addition to the society's already extensive library 

 was made by the receipt of over thirty volumes of publications of 



