Wheeling register. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1878-1935, 1881-09-02
A Discover Rivaltng Or. .J,nnar,,


ADiscovery Rivaltng DR.. Jennsr's
One Of the most important papers read
atthe meeting Of the international Meii.
cal Congress, held in London, was that
oil N. Pasteur, the distinguished biolog.
ist, on certain discoveries Of his which
will enable physicians to convert vsccin-
alton from being an isolated and EN-.
pirle precaution into q wide system OF
treatment, applicable to many kinds OF
fever OF both man and animals. His in.
vestigstions have resulted not alone in
~preyentiyes for four distinct violent dis
eases, but in a knowledge of a method
OF preparing a vaccine for preventing
levers and many-if not all-contagious
diseases. NJ. PasteIr, in his address as
reported by the London Times, gives in
detail his discoveries with respect 10 two
diseases-cbicken cholera and splenic
lever. Ii will suffice to trsce his method
OF preparing a vaccine to prevent the
first He takes q chicken about to die
OF the cholera and draws from its veins
a small quantity OF blood. Under the
microscope this blood is seen to be full
OF small living creatures, which, Tor
want OF better name, we shall call
micrO6es-the name employed by ID;
Pasteur. A drop Of this blood is placed
in q clcsa glass vessel containing clear
strained, recently boiled broth, made
from chicken or other flesh. Great
precaution is taken to exclude the
organic germs aoatingin the air; IN fact
the glass neck OF the vessel is closed
with a plug of cotton, or is drawn out
in a lamp flame and Theoretically sealed.
The glass vessel, or flask, is kept at a
temperature of about % degrees Fahren-
heit. Its contents at first become turbld
from the growth Of the microbes nour-
ished by the broth, but at the end Oh a
couple of days the thickness OF the broth
disappears because the microbes have
ceased to develop and have fallen to the
bottom of the flask, and things will re-
main in this condition for months with
out either the liquid or sediment under
going any visible change, provided the
atmospheric germs are kept excluded.
After an interval of q mo2th the flask Is
shaken to mingle its contents, and a
drop from it is placed in a second hask,
containing fresh broth. A crop OF mic
robes is produced as before, followed by
the same clearing Of the liquid and fall
ing of sediment. The interval OF a
months waiting is repeated, and a drop
from this second flask is employed to
produce microbes in a third, and 30 on
until there has been, say, a dozen crops
of microbes raised. At the end OF the
process it will be found that the "cultur-
ed microbes" to employ M. Pasteur's
language, are innocent, and, when IN
troduced into the veins OF a healthy
chicken, fail to produce cholera, as their
uncultured ancestors did, yet, at the
same time, they prevent the chickens
from catching the cholera. In a word,
the cultured microbe can be used to
vaccinste, and thus protect the farmers
chickens from one of the worst diseases
TO which fowl flesh is heir. The ration
al OF the process is that the vigor OF the
microbes is exhausted by any consider
able period Of suspended animation, a
month or less, and when the process Is
often repeated the enfeebled mlcrooe
loses the virulence Of his progenitors.
The microbe which causes splenlc fever
in sheep, &c, differs from that produc-
Ing cnOlera IN It's mOu6 VI SrOWtuJ ouI
NAV be cultured" to a state OF innocen-
cy by a process similar to the one Just
narrated, the strict exclusion OF fresh
air being in this case Indispensable. 1t
is the want of oxygen which seems to
occasion the enfeeblement Of the mic.
robe during its recurring periods OF
suspended life. This method OF obtain
ing the vaccine OF splenic fever was no
sooner made known than it was extern
sively employed. France loses $780,
900 worth OF sheep annually from splenic
lever. To test this method NJ. Pasteur
had fifty sheep given him for expert
ment by the government. He vacclnated
twenty-five OF them with his cultured
microbes. A fortnight afterward the
whole fifty were inOculated with the
ordinary uncultured splenic microbe.
The twenty-five vaccinated sheep re-
sisted the infection, the other twenty
five died of splenic fever within nifty
hours. Since that time NJ. Pasteur has
vaccinated 10000 sheep and large mum.
bers of cattle and horses and with good
rpSults-