EDITORIAL. 
787 
bercles containing bacilli. The other organs were free from 
disease. 
The conclusions derived from this are to show that, after 
all, the guinea-pig is not so rebellious to aviary contagion, that 
it takes it as it does the human, and that the relation of. both 
affections are certainly not different. 
* 
* * 
But to come back to the new point raised by Prof. Koch. 
Our friends know that a Royal Commission has been appointed 
by the English Government, and there is no doubt that with 
the names that are given of the members, much valuable work 
can be looked for. Our English colleagues-are, besides, taking 
much interest in the question, and at the recent openings of 
the veterinary colleges allusions of importance were made, 
among them those of Prof. Crookshank, the celebrated profes¬ 
sor of comparative pathology and bacteriology, and he took the 
position of agreeing fully with Prof. Koch on the question of 
infection to man, viz., that “ if it occurs at all, it is of very rare 
occurrence,” but was of an entirely different opinion on the sub¬ 
ject of human tuberculosis being inoculable to cattle. Koch by 
his experiments seems to be justified in denying it ; Crookshank 
by his in refuting it. 
But how can such contradictory results be explained? No 
doubt various opinions will be advanced. Nocard expressed his 
ideas to the Congress ; Crookshank gives his ; and, after all, it 
appears likely to prove merely a question of soil. The Profes¬ 
sor says : “ Man is not the natural soil of bovine tuberculosis. 
The attempts to transmit human tubercle to cattle would not 
be uniformly successful.” The natural resistance of the tissues 
may vary, and “an animal may be markedly susceptible to in¬ 
fection with the virus from a foreign soil,” by peculiar circum¬ 
stances, diseased condition or otherwise. 
Question of acclimation, question of resisting power, ques¬ 
tion of soil—all will evidently be carefully considered and stud¬ 
ied by all those who are now engaged in the solving of the 
problem. 
