546 MICRO-ORGANISMS AND DISEASE [chap. 



four, five, or six successive cultures, any accidentally adhering 

 original matter becomes practically lost, and if then the 

 organism still possesses the same specific action as the original 

 material, then no doubt the conclusion that organism and 

 poison are in this case identical becomes inevitable. But 

 this is not the case with the jequirity bacillus. Taking from 

 a poisonous jequirity infusion full of the bacilli one to two 

 drops, and inoculating with it a test-tube containing about 

 four to five cc. of nourishing fluid, and using this at once 

 tvithout previous incubation, we find that even a few drops of 

 this so diluted fluid still possess poisonous action. Precisely 

 the same result is obtained when taking from a perfectly fresh 

 jequirity infusion, i.e. before any organisms have made their 

 appearance, one to two drops, and diluting them with four 

 to five cc. of distilled water, and using of this diluted fluid 

 one to two drops for inoculating the conjunctiva of healthy 

 rabbits : severe ophthalmia will be the result. Carrying 

 on the cultivation of these bacilli started from a poisonous 

 infusion, for a second generation in fluid medium, no trace 

 of any poisonous action can be now detected, any quantity 

 of such a cultivation is incapable of producing ophthalmia. 

 Sattler used in his cultivations solid nutritive gelatine on the 

 surface of which he deposited his drop of poisonous jequirity 

 infusion containing the bacilli ; after some days' incubation, 

 the bacilli having become greatly multiplied and having 

 liquefied the top layer of the gelatine, he took out from this 

 second culture a drop, and transferred it to a new culture-tube 

 of solid material, and so he went on : every one of these 

 cultures possessed poisonous action. Clearly it would, since 

 he always used part of the original fluid deposited on the 

 surface of the solid nourishing material. Part of this (being 

 gelatine) became by the growth liquefied, but considering that 

 Sattler started with infusions of considerable concentration 



