The Middlebury register and Addison County journal. [volume] (Middlebury, Vt.) 1883-1885, 1884-10-10
IN A FAMOUS LABORATORY.
A VISIT TO PAsTEUR THE Re
NowNED EXPERpNdENTER.
Cages Filled with AniinaIs-A Pecu-
liar system of Inocuiation-Ho
TIC FrenCh Scientist Works.


The French Scientist Works.
In the Rue d'Ulm close to the PAN
theon, PARIS stands Pasteur's labora-
tory. Rarely, the famous experimenter
leaves the scene of his great discoveries.
He is constantly at work. leaving moth
ing untried that might throw a ray of
light upon his researches. Although
long past the prime of life, he still
possesses the indomitable energy that
characterized his youth. In his work.
shop the scientist keeps cages filled with
dogs, rabbits. chickens and other ami
mails to be used in his experiments.
When once an animal has been injected
with the fluid containing the minute
animal life upon which, as Pasteur
claims, all disease depends, it never
leaves his watchful eye. Closely he
observes every change in its condition,
and when the time has arrived to kill the
animal he consoles himself with the
thought that science demands the sscri-
flee. The whole basement of
the laboratory is transformed
into miniature menagerie.
The rabid dogs are Pasteur's ia
vorites. He has provided neat little iron
cages for less enraged pets and often sits
before them for hours watching the mad
antics of the animals, who snap and snarl
at him continually. Pandemonium
reigus supreme in this section of the
laboratory, but Pasteur seems totally OBJ
livious to the noise which to the casual
visitor is so distressing. Some are in
the first stages of the disease; they tear
about their limited quarters, biting at
ho Oh l..
tended for their beds. The ones only
recently inoculated are still affectionate
and retain their moist eyes so full of ten
derness. They recognize their master
and come forward at his call as if to be
petted.
The chickens, large and small, crane
their necks and keep up ceaseless crow
ing.
The pink-eyed rabbits are the quiet
members of Pasteur's large family. They
chew away at the cabbage leaves with
which they are fed, and quietly await
their turn to become martyrs of science,
while the cute guinea pigs huddle to-
gether, ever watchful for the approach
of an enemy.
All of them are destined to be inocu.
lated some time or other, and there is no
hope of any of them surviving the ex-
periments of the great Frenchman.
Every morning Pasteur pays visit to
the hospital and sees that his sick pets
are well cared for. Those which have
died during the night are removed to
the floor above and laid upon the dis
secting tables ready for Pasteur's knife.
This is not the only material upon which
oil 6
he receives coops full of chickens that
have died from cholera and other dis
eases.
In corner of the large room there are
huge baskets filled with straw. One con-
tains pig supposed to have died from
erysipelas, another is filed with the in
ternal organs of pleuro- pneumonia COW,
while scores of them, carefully labelled,
are sent by naturalists, who. unable to
prove their own observations. seek his
advice.
1t is not only animals upon which Pas
teur experiments. Ever since he visited
Pavillac three years ago to investigate
the causes of yellow fever he is never
without samples of vomito negro (black
vomit) which is sent to him in herme.i-
cally sealed bottles from the infected
ports. Pastcur never throws anything
away. The contents of the bottle are
carefully desiccated, and the residue is
placed in the prepagating room. HeGe
there are shelves and tables for the recep-
ton of glass jars in which he keeps the
culture liquid
By careful manipulation the dry resi-
due is redissolved and the microscopic
animal life allowed to go ON increasing.
This is Pasteur's favorite working place,
surrounded by his assistants, Chamber
land. Roux, Joubert. The death of
Thuillier, his favorite co worker, who died
in Egypt while investigating the origin of
cholera, robbed Pasteur of Il valuable aid.
Thuillier was the first to discover the
presence of microbes in the tissues of
animals, that of erysipelas, and that led
Pasteur to continue the investigation and
prove that the microbe depended upon
the disease. He began to inoculate AMI
mails with fluids containing the microbe
and by this means was enabled to reduce
the mortality in the rinderpest, which in
former years played sad havoc with tho
cattle in the Southern part of France.
AT present Pasteur is devoting his en-
ergy toward solving the problem of hy-
drophobia. The results of recent expert
ments have led him to believe that by
means of incubation it can be success
fully cured. He has already inoculated
large balloons and has reason to feel sat-
isfed that he is on the right track. lie
has demonstrated that by transmitting
the virus from the lower orders of ami
mails to the higher, it loses strength,
until finally only tritling disturbances are
caused by its injection. lie is confident
that at no long distant day he will be
able to inoculate human being The
perfection of this theory he considers tho
greatest work of his life Conversing
with a friend recently he said that he was
NOT randy 10 die until hn hnd ,nrnunl thnt