New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1882-07-02
PASTEUR AND HIS GERM THEORY.
Paris Correspondence Boston Journal

PASTEUR AND HIS GERM THEORY.
Paris Correspondence Boston Journal
| NJ Pasteur's laboratory, in which ne remains
! about sixteen hours out of every twenty-four' II
! i'm the Rue dUlm He Is at present suffering IRON
ill-healtn; in fact, as he said &c gentleman VINO
| called upon him the other morning. " may say
| that one halt of my body is parayZed. rniheu
my health in trying to attain my ann Ia givhhns
hack life and activity to the silk industry whlcn Is
one of the gOres of our country ana one Oh Tue
| chief sources of its commercial Importance. for
| the last six years have spent great part OF my
time in experiments with regard TO silks and have
| felt nv health eDbing slowly away. some nIteen
years ago when il was first made pubic that l hau
| the idea OF making observations on the lqlius eA-
tracted from the chrysals and discerning by THESE
means the good from the bad grain oil SILK worms,
everybody shrugged his shoulders WHAT oreai cam
it 49, they said. TO put microscopes sciehtlnc auu
delicate Instruments into the hands OF peasants OH
a farm! 1t is not practicable But INC e4peIr
ments sIenced all these criticisms ana oOections'
| The micros,one has now become a common lnstru
ment in the silk industry, and IS handleu WIN
especial aptitude by the women opotIn , aiIli
have already said in the preface OF my pooh Oh SIN
worms the role OF the infinitely little appears 10
me infinitely great, both as causing divers con-
tagous malades and as contributing 10 the decI ON
position and return into the atmosphere Oh ali tha'
| which has existed. , -.
ut is by means of this system that found ont
the causes of the maladics OF wines ana Deers INC
real theory of the formation OF vinegar, anu dS
! consequence of this have made known the means
| OF preserving with absolute certainty organic
| matters and transporting them without any risk OF
decomposition. Before my time the PRODUCTION III
these infinitely httle, yarousy called Ddcteria;;
! microbes etc, was little understood. Inc p'HI
which they ulay in the economy OF nature was I'M
known and was carried to the account OF spHht!-
nenus oeneratiOn Nevertheless, this production is
the cause if not of ALL certainly OF great NUMBER
of contagious diseases These beings my iSioie W
| the naked eye. constitute virus when Is OK
| tremely dangerous. IL even causes death, as tue
! great malady OF charlton has proved nave us
covered that it is possible TO render these Nero
SCOPE beings inofensiye have 3lso IouLlu i "a;
| virus reduced may become an actual pfeserVauNe'
| n veritable vaccine to be opposed 10 the ucseloP-
ment of virus which is in its nature mortal III was
in this way that | came to invent inc VacclhatiVh
| with charlton OF dOmestIcatcd animals hope ne
added as if the labor to accomplish we're almost 700
great to contemplate with Guinness " nope a.; ~
| least to find means of vaccination LOT preventing
| the yellow fever. plague, hydrophobla ETC..
| The visitor descended into the basement IN com
| many with NJ. Pasteur, with certain uncomOrtabe
sensations IN the calves OF has less touring a R"'s
BILE encounter with some one OF the lnoculated ups
and he found himself in vast cellar mo Wh'Gn
| air and light were poured through great tunnels
| Immense cages were ranged round the SIDES Oh lhls
snberranean apartment, and IN each OF these Sa2es
was a dog over each cage was n placard inulctt-
| inr the day of the incubation of the animal. " d
| to this .ime" said NJ. Pasteur nave Deen ape u
Disco r but little; still, consider u urst sleI
| Before began my experiments 1t was believed that
| hydrOphObIa could be communicated only oy inc
| saliva and people wero frequently ast0nishod at
seeing dogs that had been bitten by mad dogs re-
main son etimes all their lives, without manifest
ing any symptoms of the dreadful naiady nave
disco gered the virus of hydIophoba IN the BRAN Oh
the dog, in the spinal marrow ana IN Tue "nolI VI
| the nervous system gen. ally one drop OF thls
virus preserved from contact with the microbes Oh
the atmosphere and introduced into the BRAN OF
healthy dog, invariably gives him hydrophODia' anu
! he dies of 1t within fifteen days I'll.
"Look," said NJ Pasteur here IS an animal IN !,
| ocuIated with the virus abOut ten days ago. just
| put your foot up to his cage" lhe Vsltor ana So
but with fear and trembling. " You see ne ticks
| your foot with every manifestation OF affection
| In two DAYS he will be dead He Is now III thaI
| period of afcctIonate manifestation which geherc
ally precedes by two or three days one pero oel
| near him. Here is another one. just give u KICK
at his cage See how he springs at you! lie Will
die tomorrow.
| There are cases on record of men who have not
died after being bitten by mad dogs hat was
because the saliva had been subjected to the ln19-
ence of the atmosphere, and that KIND OF suuEgle
was going on between the microbes of the vius
ana the microbes of the circumamblent air. These
latter appear sometimes to Deutrallze OF monty Inc
effect of the virus; but with the virus IN lle pure
state as extract 10 from the brain OF one OF my
dogs here, death in fixed period is certain and up
to this time we have found no remedy LOT thiS plti-
Now | hope, if my life is spared that after
| many comparisons and experiments snail nnaly
get a remedy; but before getting to the END OF my
r.searches / must exactly establish the organic
constitution of the microbes of this virus, for these
invisible beings differ from each other as a man
| differs from Il horse and horse from an elephant.
They are also subject to divers influences, ana thaC
which dminlshes the power OF some auShiene q Cue
capacity of Others This accounts Tor tue manner III
which | treated the Charlton which was slaylhg
thousands OF sheep every day before the INVENTION
! nj nv vaccine matter, which is nothing less than
an atmosphere of forty degrees during certain
time the microbes become so feeble that when Uhey
were in the body of an animal they only conmuni-
Gated the very llghtest charDon. and thus forever
guaranteed the animals against the epidemic
" The vaccine matter which l haVe oDtalneu
agaIpst Charlton presents an entirely different guar
amtee from that of DR.. Jenner against the snallpox
This latter vaccine matter is taken from the hefer
that is To say, it is animal disease when man
il inOculaIed with. Now suppose that the coWpoX
should suddenly disappear; how would you pre-
serve men from smallpox This supposltlon was
what caused my great dispute with DR.. jules Gnerln,
who in the very midst Of a session OF iDe Academy,
challenged me to q duel because said TO nun that
he dill not know what he was talking about
Here" continued NJ. Pasteur lyon may see
cocks hens, guinea pigs hares. mice ana monkeys,
TO whom | have communicated all the grave malii-
dies which might prove epidemic, so that may
study these diseases IN two or three phases. ana
find antidotes or at least derivatives to use against
them In this little cabinet near by you Will SEE
abe nc q thousand small walls They contain all
the germs or the virus of terrible maadles. here
said the great man with slnile is enough TO STAY
all Paris and to bring into veing the most murder
Gus epidemics | have to keep up regular turkish
bath temperature here to preserve all these germs
in good condition." The visitor peeped into the
cabinet with his handkerchief carefully pressed TO
his nose but the OdOr so strong that he was not
sorry 10 get out of the door into the green little
garden close to the laboratory.
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