SMALL-POX AND VACCINIA 215 



bacillus which, we must admit, is in all probability the 

 bacillus of small-pox. From this culture in egg he pro- 

 ceeded to inoculate a calf, and from it a second calf, and 

 in turn a third. From this last a child was vaccinated, 

 and the vesicles had the normal appearances. Other vac- 

 cinations were made from different ' removes ' of the same 

 vaccine, all of which were satisfactory. Unfortunately, the 

 calves used were already employed in the production of 

 vaccine lymph, and hence the experiments cannot be re- 

 garded as so absolutely convincing as they would have 

 been had the animals been used for the purposes of these 

 experiments alone. Dr. Copeman's experiments are, how- 

 ever, in process of repetition, and when fully confirmed 

 cannot fail to be of the greatest value. 



The Distribution and Pathogenesis of Small-pox. — Small- 

 pox has been recognised and dreaded for fully the last two 

 thousand years, and was probably the best-known to the 

 ancients of all the 'ills that flesh is heir to.' While at 

 intervals it spreads widely over the world, it can still be 

 said to be endemic in India and certain parts of Egypt. 

 The ' pandemics,' which are now becoming less frequent, 

 usually have their origin from these parts. 



It has been noticed that the mortality from small-pox is 

 greater in England, India, and America during the winter 

 and spring than during the summer and autumn. Soil 

 does not, so far as is at present ascertained, appear to have 

 any influence on its spread. 



A heavier mortality is found among males than females ; 

 both susceptibility and mortality are heavier among the 

 coloured races than among the whites. 



The infection of small-pox, unlike that of most of the 

 other specific fevers, is air-borne for considerable distances, 

 while at the same time we know too little about the specific 

 poison to be able to easily destroy it, so that the disease is 



