128 
CONTRIBUTION TO THE GERM THEORY. 
feared, since the large and increasing importation of foreign 
pork, is becoming a thing of the past.” 
[We, too, are looking forward with much interest to Mr. 
Power's official report on this important subject. Cases 
of trichinosis undoubtedly have occurred in this country, but 
our own researches, which have now been going on for several 
years, do not lead to the conclusion that the malady has 
gained any serious footing here. Only a few American pigs, 
out of the number which have been examined, have been 
found affected with Trichinae; and although we have propa¬ 
gated the parasites from this source of origin, nevertheless we 
see no ground for alarm if only common care be exercised in 
cooking the meat. 
It may be said that the necessity for special precautions 
would cease if American pork in all forms were prohibited ; 
but those who are familiar with the mysteries of the meat 
trade are well aware that nothing short of the prohibition of 
pork in all forms and from all foreign sources would meet the 
case. We shall return to this subject in order to make some 
observations on the other parasites—nematodes and cestodes 
—which we have frequently found infesting the muscular 
tissue.] 
CONTRIBUTION TO THE GERM THEORY.* 
Dr. Robert Koch has published an important monograph 
on the aetiology of infectious traumatic diseases (Wundinfec- 
tionskrankheiten). The paper opens with a definition of 
the diseases treated of, and a review of the present state of 
our knowledge with regard to contagium vivum, and of the 
arguments for and against the doctrine. Then follows a 
description of the author’s method of research, and then the 
most important part of the work, a detailed description of 
his exact and laborious experiments on artificial traumatic 
diseases. 
1. Septicaemia in Mice .—Putrid blood or infusion of meat 
was injected under the skin of the back. Characteristic 
symptoms showed themselves, and the animals died in four 
to eight hours. No bacteria were found beyond those in¬ 
jected, so that in this case the disease was evidently due to 
a soluble poison (sepsin), and not to the agency of micro¬ 
phytes. In correspondence with this no effect was produced 
by very small injections (1 to 2 drops), except in about one 
* ‘ Untersucliungen iiber die Aetiologie der Wundinfectionskranklieiten/ 
Leipzig, 1878. 
