TETANUS. 113 



bands for this coloring matter begin in the first third of the 

 spectrum, between E and F, and darken all of the zone 

 lying beyond. 



Winter and Lesage treat a bouillon culture of the 

 cholera germ with sulphuric acid, dissolve the precijjitate 

 in an alltaline medium, reprecipitate with acid, and redis- 

 solve in ether, which on evaporation leaves oily drops, 

 which, on cooling, form a yellow mass of the appearance 

 of a fat This substance is insoluble in water and acids, 

 soluble in alkalies and ether. It melts at 50°, and does 

 not lose its virulence on being boiled with alcohol rendered 

 feebly alkaline. The virulence of a culture and the amount 

 of this substance contained therein are in direct proportion 

 to each other. 



Small doses of this substance (1 milligramme to 100 

 grammes of body weight of the animal) in feebly alkaline 

 solution introduced into the stomachs of guinea-pigs cause, 

 as a rule, within from four to six hours, a chill, and death 

 after twenty-four hours. With larger doses the tempera- 

 ture falls after from one-half to one hour, and death results 

 within from twelve to twenty hours. Smaller doses cause 

 a less marked reaction and the animal recovers within 

 twenty-four hours. If killed within this time the animal 

 shows a choleraic condition. Rabbits succumb only after 

 repeated subcutaneous injections. The substance can be 

 extracted from the muscles, liver, kidneys, and urine of 

 the poisoned animals. It can also be obtained from cultures 

 of a cholera infantum germ. The fact that this poison be- 

 longs neither to the ptomaines nor albumins is of interest. 



Cunningham describes ten species of the common ba- 

 cillus, one of which does not liquefy gelatin, and fails to 

 respond to the cholera reaction. He also states that there 

 are cases of undoubted cholera iu Calcutta in which the 

 common bacillus is wholly wanting. 



Tetanus. — In 1884, Nicolaier, by inoculating 140 

 animals with earth taken from different places, produced 

 symptoms of tetanus in 69 of them. In the pus which 

 formed at the point of inoculation he found micrococci and 



