CHARBON AND THE GERM THEORY OF DISEASE. 
139 
in a sterilized infusion suitable for its growth will produce a crop 
of the bacillus anthracis* It seems to me, therefore, that there 
is nothing here to cause any one to reject the plain evidence ad¬ 
vanced in regard to the relation of the organism to the disease, 
since the presence of the bacillus may be always demonstrated, 
by cultivation, in virus that is capable of causing charbon. 
2. Bert’s experiments. —It cannot be denied that the experi¬ 
ments of M. Bert were altogether the worst bombshell ever sent 
into the camp of the believers in the germ theory; and our antag¬ 
onists evidently had a keen appreciation of this, for years after 
this investigator had recognized his conclusions as erroneous, they 
have continued to use them against the new theory. M. Bert 
used charbon blood that had been sent to him from Alfort; 
this he subjected to the influence of oxygen under a pressure of 
fifty atmospheres. As this blood still destroyed Guinea-pigs, it 
was coagulated with three times its volume of absolute alcohol, 
added drop by drop ; the coagulum was well washed with alcohol 
and dried in vacuo. This dried coagulum yielded its virulent 
principle to water, from which it might be again precipitated by 
alcohol in the form of white flakes; and although these flakes no 
longer killed dogs, they were fatal to three successions of Guinea- 
pigs. Even after being preserved five months in alcohol this 
virus was still capable of destroying these animals. It appeared 
impossible at the time, to draw any other conclusion than that 
the virus was a soluble, formless ferment comparable to diastase.f 
It must be admitted that this conclusion seemed trustworthy; 
at the time it appeared impossible to explain the result of these 
experiments in any other way; but there was a direct antagonism 
between this result and that previously reached by Koch. Many 
of us felt discouraged and feared that, notwithstanding the most 
perseverant efforts, the subject was destined to remain surrounded 
by an impenetrable veil; but a few, who had not lost their faith 
in the possibilities of scientific investigation to conquer all diffi- 
* L. Pasteur, Letter to M. Bouley. Recueil de H6decine Veterinaire, 1877, 
1>. 917. 
t P. Bert. De l’emploi de l’oxygene a haute tension comrne procddd d’inves- 
tigation physiologique: des venins et des virus. Comptes Rendu#, May *21. 1871 
