516 
DR. WILLEMS. 
the time necessary is not at his command, to permit him to under¬ 
take a new series of experiments. But it is only postponed, and 1 
will soon furnish him with the means of beginning the researches 
you speak of. * * * * * 
“ I do not despair to see the day when the liquid for inocula¬ 
tion will be no less than the liquid of cidture of the microbe, 
that is to say, pure of all foreign elements and especially those of a 
septic character.” * * * * * * 
He closes by saying: “ You can depend on me to bring to a 
good end this question of inoculation, and to remove all the in¬ 
accuracies that negative facts contribute to maintain in the public 
mind. I hope much for a positive solution from experiments in 
the laboratory. It is certain that facts cannot be contradictory, 
at one time saying yes, and no at another. If then they seem 
such, it must proceed from the quality of the inoculated liquid 
and the mode of inoculation. That must depend also on the 
actual condition of contamination at the time the inoculation is 
made. If the animal is already infected through the ordinary 
channels of contagion, it is not astonishing if the inoculation 
fails, inasmuch as the enemy is already in the fort, when one pro¬ 
poses to guard against it. 
“ However, dear sir, your discovery of the immunity secured 
by preventive inoculation remains impregnable. The new phase 
in which we are about entering, that of experimental study, can¬ 
not fail to furnish a powerful corroboration of the truth that you 
have established, or to remove all obstacles which might hinder 
preventive inoculation from producing all the economical results 
its careful practice must secure.” * * * * 
We hope soon to resume our researches and to be able to com¬ 
municate them to the Academy. 
