556 
EDITORIAL. 
pressed upon our attention, and only a nimble student can 
keep up with the times, in this race of knowledge. Promi¬ 
nent among these is rabies, concerning which so many theo¬ 
ries have been suggested and abandoned, and so much unjus¬ 
tifiable criticism indulged in, that it would almost seem that 
nothing more could be invented or imagined to put in print 
touching upon the etiology of the affection. And yet the 
light is far from being perfect, and many obscure questions 
still remain to be solved. 
Among the more attentive of the observers and students 
of rabies may be mentioned Professor Galtier, who has indus¬ 
triously worked the field. One of the results which have re¬ 
warded his investigations is the alleged possibility of inocula¬ 
tion of rabies through the medium of healthy mucous mem¬ 
brane. The professor has successively experimented touch¬ 
ing the virulent action upon the digestive, respiratory, ocular 
and genito-urinary membranes, and he has proved that the 
disease can be transmitted, within various periods of time, at 
least in some cases, if not in all, through the mucous mem¬ 
branes, with perhaps an exception in favor of that of the gen¬ 
ito-urinary canal. 
In a pathological point of view these results are of great 
importance, and may serve to illustrate the etiology of a case 
in which the mode of introduction of the virus, followed by 
the appearance of all the symptoms, might not be known. 
J 3 ut the possibility of this mode of inoculation does not seem 
to be established as good for all diseases, nor for all the mu¬ 
cous coverings, a fact well illustrated by the results obtained 
by Director Nocard in his experiments with the virus of 
glanders when brought in contact with the intact skin. Di¬ 
rector Babes of Bucharest has already written on this subject, 
and the experiments of the learned Director of the Alfort 
School were made with a view to confirm if possible, those 
published by Dr. Babes. The results obtained served evi¬ 
dently to prove at least one important fact, viz., that it is a very 
unusual occurrence for the inoculation to take place through 
a skin perfectly intact. He inoculated three donkej's and 
fifteen guinea pigs with rabies cultures, and of all these only 
two of the pigs died with glanderous lesions. 
