ISO 
M. A. CHAUVEAU. 
No foeccs had yet been passed, so gave another injection. Only 
slight discharge from vagina. Injected weak solution of carbolic 
acid and sent her home, with directions to let the puppies suckle 
her and see if the milk secretion, which was then nearly sus¬ 
pended, could be stimulated. 
The following Sunday morning I saw the little animal in the 
street apparently as well as ever. The owner said that she was 
giving full nourishment to her young, which were doing nicely. 
EXPERIMENTAL PHYSIOLOGY, 
CONCERNING THE ACTION OF THE OXYGEN OF AIR IN THE 
PSEUDO-INSTANTANEOUS ATTENUATION OF VIRULENT CUL¬ 
TIVATIONS BY THE ACTION OF HEAT. 
By M. A. Chattveau. 
In the method generally employed for the application of the 
process of rapid attenuation of virulent cultures, the presence of 
the atmospheric oxygen while the attenuation is taking place, is a 
necessary condition. It is a fact well established by the valuable 
researches of M. Pasteur, that oxygen is a very active attenuating 
agent of the virulency of infectious mierobs. Would it not be 
that to the action of this agent, during the heating, is due the at¬ 
tenuation which is attributed to the action of heat ? At least, 
would not oxygen contribute, more or less, to the production 
of the attenuating’effect ? These are questions deserving the most 
careful study. From experiments made, M. Chauveau concludes, 
not only that the presence of air does not act in the attenuation 
obtained by the charbon virus by heating it, but it takes better— 
much better—in the absence than in the presence of oxygen. 
With this gas, the virus presents a diminished resistance to the 
attenuating action of heat. 
He adds: “ One would be tempted to find a contradiction be¬ 
tween these results and those so brilliantly presented by M. Pas¬ 
teur, for the institution of his solid method of attenuation of viruses 
by the action of oxygen.” This would be wrong. The conditions 
of the two orders of experiments being different, it would be sur- 
