144 BACTERIAL POISONS. 



and a coma-like condition set in. The animal died, with- 

 out convulsions, within about three hours. The rat which 

 received 60 mg. went through the same course of symptoms, 

 but these were less intense. Death ' resulted four hours 

 after the injection. The one which received 25 mg. be- 

 came very sick, but finally recovered, and one week later 

 it was given another injection of 30 mg., which produced 

 scarcely any effect. Then it was treated at intervals of 

 five, three, five, two, and four days, respectively, to 40, 50, 

 75, 100, and 125 mg. without effect. Three days after the 

 last injection the animal was inoculated with one c. c. of a 

 bouillon culture of the highly virulent germ. Only a 

 slight temporary effect was observed during the first day, 

 after which recovery was complete and permanent. A 

 control rat which was given the same quantity of the cul- 

 ture sickened the next day and died one week later. From 

 this it will be seen that the animal was rendered immune 

 against the disease. 



ScHWEiNiTZ also reports the detection of a slightly 

 poisonous base, which he designates as sucholotoxin, and a 

 poisonous proteid, and with these he has been able to secure 

 immunity in guinea-pigs against the virulent germ. The 

 proteid body is classed among the albumoses, and is said 

 to crystallize in white, translucent plates when dried in 

 vacuo over sulphuric acid and to form needle-like crystals 

 with platinum chloride. No one else has reported a crys- 

 talline bacterial proteid, and this body is deserving of a 

 more extended study. 



Rabbit Septicemia. — Hoffa has killed rabbits by 

 inoculation with pure cultures of the bacillus of this disease, 

 and has isolated from the bodies of these animals methyl- 

 guanidin, while in the bodies of healthy rabbits this poison 

 could not be found. The fatal dose of methylguanidin for 

 rabbits was found to be 0.2 gramme when given subcu- 

 taneously. Since Hueppe has suggested that the bacte- 

 rium of chicken-cholera is identical with that of rabbit 

 septicsemia, chickens were poisoned with methylguanidin, 



