Savannah morning news. [volume] (Savannah) 1868-1887, 1885-07-15

i or so might be willing 10 sell my ItSulS
TO such and such a city, but / must nave
! guarantees"
The first speaker has been engaged for
some time III inoculating about 600 peo-
/ pie per day at ~ % apiece, as protec-
/ ton against Asiatic cholera. That be IS not
| "A second JenneT. in at least one respect
is very obvious. The Englshman was
/ prompt to explain every detail Of tue pro
I cess by which he disarmed smallpox OF
its lOathsOme terrOrs, aud without a
/ thought Of pecuniaTy gam for himself.
But the SpanaTd is thrifty soul, and
| proposes 10 pedde out his alleged disc0Y-
/ cry under "guarantics." Aside from this,
] however, the question remains as 10 ne
/ real protective value of his NEGOTIATIONS.
/ Ii this be at all what he claims, his secret
4 would be well worth paving for; although,
/ If his word may be depended upon, IT is
not "secreV TO some Of his intimate
! irieuds.
/ Or. Fc7ran is a native Of Tortosa. He
/ il about SO years OF age, and received his
medical education at Barcelona, where
he obtained . special prize tor his essay
/ on micrOblolOgy, and numerous other
! prizes connected with professional sub
iscts. During the great cholera outbreak
last year in Marselles he was sent as
| special commissioner from Barcelona to
study the disease, which WAS tnen raging.
] Il
hospital, enjoying the advantage Of FREE
quent communication with the celebrated
DR.. Koch On his return to Valencia he
devoted much thought and study 10 the
subject, and on the appearance OF cholera
in Valencia, in March, he commenced
series Of inOculatiOns, first at Tatira and
next at Alcira, where he soon began to
exercise powerful influence.
His system may be briefly described as
M /. 81 FL
in the legitimate train OF Koch and Van
Ermengen, he considers the comma ba-
cillus OF Koch as only one stage Of the
micrO-Crgauism; he (Ferran) declares
that it passes through several, and, util-
ling his micrO-OTganism as finally de-
velOped By him, he iniects IL suspended
in medium, such as chicken broth or
beef tea INTO the human being, and so
claims to secure the individual against
an attack OF cholera. or, If attacked AT all,
very mild one will ensue. The opera
tion is a very simple one. About
half "A cubic centimeter Of the fluid con
tanning the micro organisms is placed in
a small hypOdermic syringe and injected
into the back OF the arm about four inches
above the elbow. 1t is usually done in
both arms. A certain train of symptoms
follows in few hours, varying in inten-
sity with different individuals. 1t cannot
he claimed that these symptoms are SINH
lar to those of Asiatic cholera they rather
resemble the symptoms of bl0od-poison-
ing, and very serious effects in the shape
Of phlegmOnOus ulcers and unmistakable
blood-pOisOning have resulted to several
of those who have been thus inOculated.
Before Ferran decided that he had "a
right to consider his own interest" and
put price on his discovery, he had al
ready detailed his process in letter to a
friend, OF which the following is a transla-
ton:
"The liquid vehicle used in broth made
Of either mutton or beef, prepared &C
cording to the formula of Pierre MIGUEL
Giving Organisms Of the Atmosphere },
and | neither add TO my culture peptOnes
nor Ltebig's extract of meat. | merely
slightly neutraiize the broth with an
alkali. / sterilize the fluid, following the
method Of Iyndall, by repeated boilings
made in specially arranged retOrt. A
narrow, slender tube, filled with steril-
lied cotton, enters this flask. Culture is
effected by inserting capillary tube be-
tween the cotton fbres. This tube con-
tains tho germ. This slender tube has a
dilatation at its centre, and is itself per-
tectly sterllized, for at the time 1t is
blown both ends are hermetically sealed
and not opened until used. Taking cul-
ture tube, we insert between the fibres
OF cotton which it contains one OF
these capillary tubes until it reaches a
point in the funnel where it comes in
contact with the gelatine which is TO con-
tain the comma bacillus. For a retOrt
containing 30 10 40 centimeters of broth
we employ all the germ contained in a
single capillary tube. Having thus sOwn
the germ, | subject the retOrt to incuba-
ton exposed 20 a steady temperature Of 81
deg. centigrade. II incubation is pro-
longed, as the fisslpparous generation of
spirllla Is very active, the broth is soon
exhausted OF its nutritive principles, aud
the development of other forms of the
thallOphyte becomes difficult. Incuba-
ton, therefore, should not be too lengthy,
and should be stopped whenever the
broth loses its transparency. At the end
OF As hours we have specimens Of
oOgones and OOspheres, which ex-
hausts the nutritiye resources of the
broth. and il becomes necessary to add a
fertilizer in order TO facilitate the eVOlu-
ton Of the muritOrm bodies. THIS fer
tilizer is made Of mixture of fresh broth
and hogs bile properly desterihzed broth
100 parts TO 20 OF bile J. This mixture is
boiled in a capsule, atterwaTd sealed.
and when sufficiently cooled is inserted
into the cuitiyating retort in such way
that its contents serve TO fertilize and
feed the original culture. Tnis done, the
retort is maintained at a temperature Of
10 deg. TO Is deg. centigrade, and the
spores continue to develop for few days"
a gelatine culture 10 then made with
this liquid, the method being given in
minute detail in the letter, and with this
culture the NEGOTIATIONS are made.
There seems TO be no reason for doubt
ing the good faith of Ferran when he wrote
this letter, and, if so, il should be an easy
matter for other biologists TO test the
accuracy of these instructions. II he has
really discovered a method for preventing
cholera his discovery should be given to
thq world