104 Proceedings of Royal Society of Edinburgh. [jan. 31 , 
completed) may prove a remedy (placed upon a scientific basis) for 
certain contagious diseases whose organisms reside in the blood. 
I may allude, in passing, that there is no science on such an 
unsatisfactory basis as medicine, and the present method of 
administering medicines (in such diseases as above) is first of all 
into the stomach by means of the mouth. The medicine has to 
pass through a good portion of the alimentary canal before it is 
absorbed into the blood. The medicine may become changed 
(before it is absorbed) by the various secretions pouring into the 
alimentary canal. Hence, for those contagious diseases whose seat 
of action is in the blood (the blood being their soil), we ought to 
apply our remedy directly to the blood itself by injections. 
With this idea in view (and from analogy of the action of 
salicylic acid upon a large number of micro-organisms), it is 
most probable that the above salicylic acid solution will destroy 
Micrococcus erysijpelatosus, Micrococcus scarlatince, Bacillus malarias. 
Bacillus tuberculosis, &c. These micro-organisms have been proved 
to be the cause of the diseases in which they are found in great 
numbers in the blood. Swine fever, cattle plague, pleuro-pneumonia 
have also been proved to be the results of different species of micro- 
coccus. All these organisms reside in the blood of man and 
animals suffering with these diseases. 
In the case of Bacillus tuberculosis , according to Dr E. Ereund 
{Nature, vol. xxxiv. p. 581, Oct. 14, 1886), of Vienna, this micro- 
organism appears to form cellulose within the blood of tuberculous 
persons. This cellulose is a product of its ( B . tuberculosis ) life- 
history, and we have seen in numerous cases that the salicylic acid 
attacks micro-parasitic cellulose, if I can so use the expression. 
Therefore the hint may be given, that salicylic acid may prove a 
successful remedy in tuberculosis, when injected directly into the 
blood of diseased patients. 
It may be asked — If the salicylic acid solution is injected into the 
blood, will it not destroy the red and white corpuscles ? On April 
28, 1886, I opened a vein in my left arm, and injected into the 
blood the solution of salicylic acid, and with the exception of a 
headache or so there were no abnormal results. 
A microscopical examination of the blood (two hours after 
injection) revealed that the blood corpuscles were in a perfectly 
