670 APPENDIX. 
cians in general, and also, apparently, so far as the 
literature seen by me indicates, by those familiar with 
rabies. For this reason physicians when applying a 
cautery later than an hour after infection do so largely 
as a matter of form, for its moral effect on the patient, 
and so the application is not thorough, and in conse- 
quence not effectual. There is no evidence to show 
that this is the case at all; no systematic investigations 
have been published, so far as we know, to prove the 
point one way or the other. 
_ We know that the virus of rabies is not carried into the 
system by the blood, but through the nervous system. 
Dr. Follen Cabot carried out an extensive series of 
experiments in the laboratory upon guinea-pigs which 
showed: 1. That 91 per cent. of guinea-pigs can be 
prevented from developing rabies if the wounds be cau- 
terized with chemically pure nitric acid at the end of 
twenty-four hours from the time of infection, probably 
a larger percentage if the cautery be used earlier. 2. 
That fuming nitric acid is more effectual than the actual 
cautery or pure nitrate of silver. 3. That some degree 
of benefit is derived from thoroughly opening and swab- 
bing out an infected wound within twenty four hours 
from the time of infection when no cautery is used. 
I believe that he demonstrated that in cases in which 
the Pasteur treatment cannot be applied great benefit 
may be derived from the correct use of cauterization 
even twenty-four hours after infection, and that even 
in cases in which the Pasteur treatment can be given, 
an early cauterization will be of great assistance as a 
routine practice, and should be very valuable, as the 
Pasteur treatment is frequently delayed several days, 
for obvious reasons, and does not always protect. In 
